NEW YORK -- NYCHA BRANCH OF THE NAACP HONORS
HARLEM WRITERS GUILD MEMBER WITH AWARD FOR LITERACY
New York – Author and Harlem Writers Guild member, Eartha Watts-Hicks, was nominated by the NYCHA branch of the NAACP for the Just R.E.A.D. (Recognize Education Achieves Destiny) Award for literacy in both the relationship and fiction categories. In a ceremony “honoring authors who have changed ‘the game’ through writing” held on Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 6:00pm at the Magic Johnson Theatre in Harlem, Eartha was presented with an award and named winner of the Just R.E.A.D Award for fiction. Winners of other categories included: Dawn Marie Daniels & Candace Sandy, Michelle Alexander, Jack A. Daniels, Ryan C. Mack, Yandy Smith, and Jamillah & David Lamb.
The NAACP New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) branch was established in June of 1969. It is the only city agency NAACP branch. Their Just R.E.A.D (Recognize Education Achieves Destiny) campaign was launched in 2013. This initiative was designed to promote literacy in underserved African American communities by conveying the message that “reading is the ‘cool’ thing to do,” as well as raise money in support of those objectives. By receiving this award, the winners have also accepted the role of NAACP “game changer” and literacy ambassador for 2013.
“Receiving the Just R.E.A.D. Award from the NAACP was an honor that was made even more special because it was presented by the NYCHA branch,” says Eartha. “I grew up in housing projects, and for the most part, as a child I stayed home and studied.” Love Changes is Eartha Watts-Hicks’s first novel.
About Love Changes
Ten years in the making, Love Changes infuses original poetry, song lyrics from 80’s and 90’s popular music, and prose in the narrative of Mia Love, a twenty-six year old single mother. She has been living with high school sweetheart, Spider. Now that they are parents of a three-month-old, Mia is determined to break Spider’s resistance in order for him to commit to marriage. Under the scrutiny of her mother, her sister, and her male best friend, Romell, Mia is losing patience and hope. As the couple engages in their battle of wills, how can Mia resist advances from her handsome and flirtatious, male best friend? What ensues is a love triangle with a unique twist, two men vying for a lady with a baby.
About the Author
Eartha Watts-Hicks is the former director of publications for Cultivating Our Sisterhood International Association (COSIA), as well as a member of Project Enterprise, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), and the esteemed Harlem Writers Guild. She is a past participant of the Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Advanced Novel workshop, as well as a fellow of the North Country Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color. Eartha’s writings have appeared in several online publications, including Harlem World Magazine, TheUrbanBookSource.com, and Future Executives.org.
“Love Changes is a heartwarming story of a young woman’s decision to remain true to herself. Torn between loyalties, this heroine struggles to make the life she dreams of a reality. Ultimately she discovers whether the path to true happiness lies in gaining the approval of others or loving God and self. Indeed, this is a well-written page turner from start to finish.”
— Grace F. Edwards, author of The Viaduct and the Mali Anderson Mystery Series
“Eartha Watts-Hicks has written a touching story that captures the bittersweet, often agonizing, love between generations. A beautiful first novel!”
—Valerie Wilson Wesley, author of Playing My Mother’s Blues and the Tamara Hayle Mystery Series
“….Eartha Watts-Hicks puts some young women’s lives in perspective. It’s extremely well-written. Reading about the reality of what’s really happening in many young women’s lives is enlightening. Perhaps this novel can change a young woman’s path and allow her to see what a difference an education can make.”
— New York Amsterdam News
Love Changes is published by Earthatone Books in association with the Harlem Writers Guild.
ISBN-13: 978-0-578-03024-1 • Paperback $18.95 • 378 pages • Size: 6x9
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To order advance copies and preview chapters of Love Changes, visit Eartha Watts-Hicks’s author website, www.earthatone.com or purchase through www.ondemandbooks.com. For readings, book signings, speaking engagements, press and media inquiries including promotional photos, interviews, and guest blogging requests, please contact T.T. Brooks at 212-252-6859 or by email: info@earthatone.com (mailto:info@earthatone.com).
