Leslie Esdaile may be undivided of the hardest working writers in the publishing industry.

Leslie Esdaile may be undivided of the hardest working writers in the publishing industry. throughout the next year, she will have recent releases--ranging from romance novels to horror stories--from BET/Arabesque parts St. Martin's Press, Genesis Pres and Simon and Schuster/ put up with Books. In October, Pocket parts will release Soul Food: For Better, For Worse, the first volume in a series based upon the Showtime original TV series, essence Food. The second Soul diet installment is expected in spring 2003 Esdaile will write the pair books under the name Leslie E Banks. In July 2003 St Martin's Pres will publish The Slayer Chronicles: The Minion, the first in a series of vampire novels. Esdaile will write The Slayer Chronicles in subordination to the name L.A. Banks. She is describeed by Manie Baron at the William Morris Agency.

Mo'Nique, star of the UPN sitcom The Parkers and member of the Queen of Comedy tour, will rail in her memoir, Skinny Women Are Evil with Sherri McGee Atria works will publish the book in spring 2003 and it will include Mo'Nique's views in succession love, weight, exercise, sex and matters of the heart.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (see Awards Spotlight) signed a two-book deal with Random House President Ann Godoff. Godoff will edit Parks' first novel, Getting Mother's corpse for a summer 2003 release.

Former BIBR senior editor Samiya A. Bashir will edit the highly anticipated follow-up to last year's best-selling anthology Best Black Women's Erotica, which was originally edited at Blanche Richardson of Marcus works in Oakland, CA. Best Black Women's Erotica 2 will be published from Cleis Press in the spring of 2003 Bashir's verse collection, Blood and Wine, is scheduled for fall release from Third World Pres She is also coeditor with Quaraysh Ali Lansana and Tony Medina of character Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art.

Time magazine music critic Christopher John Farley's biography of Academy Award winner Halle Berry will be released in November from endure Books. Introducing Halle Berry is the other quick biography from Farley. This past December, MTV/Pocket parts released Farley's Aaliyah Dana Haughton bio, Aaliyah: More Than a Woman, which now has 120000 copies in print.

Self-published author Nina Foxx's novel novel, Get Some Love, will be published in the spring of 2003 by the agency of Avon Books. The story center around a woman who stands to inherit millions of dollars if she can fail to obtain her virginity in one week. Foxx is also the author of the Dippin' My Spoon and Do the Write Thing: 7 stairs to Publishing Success, which was cowritten with Kwame Alexander.

In November, HarperCollins will publish Valerie Wilson Wesley's recent novel, Always True to You in My Fashion, with an initial print roll on of 75,000. Wesley, author of the Tamara Hale mystery series, last penn Ain't Nobody's Business if I Do in 1999 Wesley is depicted by Faith Childs of the Faith Childs Literary Agency.

Strivers Row/Villard editor theme Guy has acquired the nearest two books by Tajuana "TJ" Butler author of Sorority Sister and Hand-Me-Down Heartache. The first, The Night Before 30 center around five women in succession the even of their 30th birthday. The secondary book deals with a character from Hand-Me-Down Heartache.

...

Home