Independent authors from around the country came out to the second annual book fair hosted by Detroit Book City in Lathrup Village. Owner Janeice Haynes said she felt compelled to host the event last month because of the low literacy rate in Detroit.
“Detroit right now has a 47 percent adult literacy rate. So how do we bridge that gap?” Haynes asked. “We bridge it by giving the Metro Detroit community people access to books, African-American books.”
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Haynes added, if not for events like the Detroit Book City fair, up-and-coming authors may not get the exposure they need.
“Black writers are all over everywhere, and they are writing like never before. And the only way to really connect with them is, not at the big box, it’s at the independent bookstores and at platforms like this,” said Haynes.
Author Kerwin Phillip traveled from Richmond, Virginia, to showcase his book “Malik’s First Job: Financial Principles for Teens.”
“I wanted to be able to give young people some information that could help them as they grow into adulthood to help them have a good financial foundation,” said Phillip. “For our kids to properly inherit the assets and resources we pass down to them, we have to make sure they’re educated.”
Though the book fair brought out mostly adults, kids showed up to check out the books for sale, too. There were even some young authors there promoting their own literary work.
Sisters Talise, 12, and Talia Boone, 8, said their mother encouraged them to write “The Fashion Sisters.”
“When we were younger, we used to like to do fashion shows around the house, and then our mom had the idea that we make a book about fashion,” explained Talise.
Talia said it was a lot of work but it was worth it.