IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Dafina Books
By Ann Burns -- Library Journal, 11/1/2006
An imprint of Kensington since September 2000, Dafina Books publishes over 70 books a year, both fiction and nonfiction, in hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market paperback formats. The imprint targets African American readers as well as those interested in a mix of genres and styles reflecting the black experience. To learn more about Dafina, LJ spoke with senior publicist Maureen Cuddy.
How did Dafina come into fruition?
Dafina Books was a natural outgrowth of Kensington's publishing program. The company has long taken a leadership position in bringing books to African American readers—as early as the mid 1990s, in fact. Then, Kensington, long known for its successful romance publishing program, created Arabesque Books—romance novels featuring African American characters along with themes/lifestyle/plot elements familiar to African American readers but not normally reflected in mainstream romance novels.
That said, the company continued to publish fiction and nonfiction targeting this reading audience in all formats and reflecting a range of interests (romance, mystery, history, etc.), even after BET purchased the Arabesque imprint for its own. With a number of successful books under our belt and with the talent and interest on the editorial side, it was time to create an imprint. Kensington had more than tested the waters at that point and began acquiring with an imprint in mind. That first list featured New York Times best-selling authors Carl Weber, Mary Monroe, and Mary B. Morrison and the longtime favorite of readers Gwynne Forster, as well as Donna Hill and Kimberla Lawson Roby. Our nonfiction program is wide-ranging, and prominent among those books are Salome Thomas-El's two books, The Immortality of Influence and I Choose To Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses To Desert the Inner City.
The name Dafina has a special resonance, being Swahili for an “unexpected gift.”
As Dafina has grown and changed, so has the readership. Many novels are “multicultural,” reflecting the world of readers—especially younger readers in the teens, twenties, and early thirties. While we started with books targeting adults, we're now the proud publishers of the very first teen novel from Dafina Books, Drama High: The Fight by L. Divine. As our list has evolved, we've also been able to reach out to Christian readers with several new authors, as well as through Victor McGlothin, one of our shining stars.
What's coming up for 2007?
Next year holds lots for readers. They should watch for the growth of the YA program; an expanded number of Christian titles; new novels from authors such as Carl Weber (The First Lady, January 2007), Mary Monroe (Deliver Me from Evil, September 2007), and Candice Dow (A Hire Love, February 2007); and, following the completion of her SoulMates Dissipate novels this past August, Mary B. Morrison is beginning fresh with Sweeter Than Honey (August 2007). On the nonfiction side, we will be publishing a book by Shoshana Johnson, the first woman of color taken prisoner of war, who was captured at the same time as Jessica Lynch.
January 2007 also marks the debut of the first title under our copublishing program with Vibe magazine, which launches with Death Around the Corner by C-Murder and is followed by Kenji Jasper's Snow in March.
