Black Writers Seize Glamorous Ground Around 'Chick-Lit'
By LOLA OGUNNAIKE

Published: May 31, 2004

…Like its white counterpart, black chick-lit often centers on single women with dream jobs, precariously balancing the personal and professional. Similarly, too, these new authors write with insiders' knowledge about the glamorous worlds they chronicle.

Neither racially charged nor didactic, these books seem meant to be read on sandy shores from Sag Harbor to St.-Tropez. The protagonists, educated and decidedly middle to upper class, effortlessly mingle with both black and white characters. Love, not privilege, is the only real speed bump.

"There is no momma figure acting as the conscience; spirituality is not at the core of these books," said Patrik Henry Bass, books editor at Essence, the leading African-American women's magazine. "You won't find any church scenes."

Tonya Lewis Lee, who along with a friend, Crystal McCrary Anthony, wrote "Gotham Diaries" (Hyperion), said, "We didn't want our book to be heavy." Set against a backdrop of museum galas and million-dollar real estate deals, the novel delights in skewering nouveau riche rappers and pearl-clutching socialites alike. "We need levity somewhere," said Mrs. Lee, wife of the director Spike Lee. "We need to be able to laugh at ourselves."

…According to Target Market News, a research company that specializes in African-American consumer statistics, blacks spent $325 million on books in 2003, an 8 percent increase over 2002. In 1996 the figure was a little more than $200 million.

"Once these black women readers realize that these books are out there, they will really catch on, and they're going to be big," said Janet Hill, vice president and executive editor of Harlem Moon, which besides "Cosmopolitan Girls" has published "Beautylicious: The Black Girl's Guide to the Fabulous Life."

"We think that there is a very healthy market for African-American chick-lit, and we plan to capitalize on it," she added.