Honoring Black Authors and Illustrators of The 21st Century

Bweela Steptoe is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she received her degrees and acquired knowledge in all aspects of the fashion industry. Bweela has been designing for private clients and enjoys creating one-of-kind garments. She also enjoys creating the fabric she uses in her designs. Bweela uses her artistic background and family art influences as an inspiration for her fabric and clothing designs. She is the daughter of two artists. Stephanie Douglas a collagist and the award winning children's book author and illustrator John Steptoe. The splashes and footprints that embellish her deconstructed garments are a defiant reminder of where she came from. She is also the mother of twin girls. Bweela resides in Brooklyn New York.

Bweela Steptoe

Presenting The Life & Legacy of John Steptoe followed by a round table talk on black children's books authors, illustrators & the industry.

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Honoring Black Authors and Illustrators of the 21st CenturyJoin us on February 19th at 1 PM EST for a marvelous afternoon celebrating BLACK EXCELLENCE in the writing and illustration field!This event will feature a presentation by Bweela Steptoe, the daughter of John Steptoe, the award winning author and illustrator of children&#x27;s books. You may recognize her best as the model for both sisters in John’s most famous book, Mufaro&#x27;s Beautiful Daughters. Bweela Steptoe will present The Life and Legacy of John Steptoe, highlighting his substantial influence and impact on the children&#x27;s book industry, especially when it comes to the path that he has paved for authors and illustrators of color.This presentation will be followed by a round table discussion with our remarkable panel of esteemed authors and/or illustrators. These presenters will highlight their literary work, their experience in the publishing world as black authors and/or illustrators of children’s books, along with John&#x27;s possible influence in their work. Finally attendees will have the opportunity to chime into the discussion, ask questions, and win amazing prizes!Here’s what is included in each ticket tier:<h3>Horn Book Fanfare Honor</h3>Price: $21Virtual event admission and an opportunity to win an array of amazing prizes live during the event. <h3>ALA Notable Book</h3>Price $49Virtual event admission, unsigned book, and opportunity to win an array of prizes live during the virtual event.<h3>The Caldecott Honor</h3>Price $97Virtual event admission, Mufaro&#x27;s Beautiful Daughters book and 30th Anniversary Mufaro&#x27;s poster signed by Bweela Steptoe <h3>The Caldecott Medal </h3>Price $149.Virtual event admission, Mufaro&#x27;s Beautiful Daughters book and 30th Anniversary Mufaro&#x27;s poster personally autographed to you signed by Bweela Steptoe , a John Steptoe book title TeeAvailable Prizes for all attendees include:<ul><li>Custom designed John Steptoe Book Titled t-shirts uniquely embellished by Bweela Steptoe</li><li>Signed or unsigned copies of books from all presenting authors and/or illustrators</li><li>A personally autographed Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters 30th Anniversary Poster</li><li>For all you aspiring authors out there! Julia D Shaw has gifted two opportunities for a 1 hour free consultation with her about YOUR work! </li></ul>10% of the net proceeds will go towards the John Lewis Steptoe Cultural Center. The John Lewis Steptoe Cultural Center is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to share the legacy and creativity of John Lewis Steptoe, an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. Our goal is to instill self­‐awareness in diverse communities by developing artistic workshops, which will highlight cultural awareness and share John Lewis Steptoe’s contributions to the art world, children’s book literature, and African American history. The John Lewis Steptoe Cultural Center provides art workshops, lectures and unique learning experiences for children, families and educational organizations in his childhood community of Bedford-Stuyvesant (Brooklyn, NY).<a href="http://thejohnlewissteptoeculturalcenter.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">thejohnlewissteptoeculturalcenter.org</a>Here are some of the most accomplished speakers that will be participating in this event!Pat Cummings author and/or illustrator of over 40 books, Pat teaches children’s book courses at Pratt Institute and Parsons and her summer Children’s Book Boot Camp brings writers and illustrators together with top editors, art directors and agents. She serves on the boards of SCBWI, the Authors Guild and the Authors League Fund and as Chair of the Founders Award Jury for the Society of Illustrators’ annual Original Art Show.Pat’s latest books include her debut middle grade novel, Trace, from HarperCollins and Where is Mommy?, a picture book from Holiday House. Find her at <a href="https://www.patcummings.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.patcummings.com</a> or on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/PatCummingsBook" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@PatCummingsBook</a>Julia D. Shaw has developed an extensive marketing career with over twenty years of experience providing the services of public relations, marketing, and event management to a diverse array of clients. She has worked on a variety of PR campaigns, special events, awards programs, conferences, product launches, book signing, expos and festivals.Julia currently applies her talents as the PR Consultant for The Network for Women in Business, an online membership community for business development. Shaw as also served as the on-site Event Manager for several annual events including the Small Business Boot Camp for Women, sponsored by the Network for Women in Business, The National Black Writer’s Conference coordinated by The Center of Black Literature at Medgar Evers College and The Network Journal Magazine’s two signature events, the 25 Influential Black Women in Business Awards and the 40 Under Forty Achievement Awards for over fifteen years.Julia was inspired by the friendship she developed with award winning children’s book author and illustrator John Steptoe to promote African American literature. She launched Shaw Literary Group in 1995, focusing on the niche to market and sell African American literature. One of her first book projects was “Why should white guys have all the fun?”: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire. She also worked infamous authors such as radio personality and author Michael Baisden, NY Times Bestselling author Iyanla Vanzant and TV physiologist and author, Dr. Jeff Gardere early in their careers. In September of 2013 Shaw became an author herself as one of the thirty women sharing networking tips in the Amazon Bestselling book, Network to Increase Your Net Worth.<a href="http://thecollaborativeexperience.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">thecollaborativeexperience.com</a>Deborah Napol<a href="https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Julia+D.+Shaw" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"></a>eon is a passionate educator, wife, and mother of two. She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Haitian immigrant parents. At the tender age of two, her family migrated to Florida where she spent the rest of her childhood. Deborah attended Miami-Dade County Public schools. Then, she went on to obtain a bachelor&#x27;s degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminology from the prestigious Florida State University. Go Noles!!! Afterwards, she got accepted into Urban Teachers, an intensive alternative teacher certification program. It is there that she ultimately developed her passion for urban education. Deborah has a master&#x27;s degree in General Education as well as a master&#x27;s degree in Special Education from Lesley University. She has taught in Baltimore City, and Washington D.C. She currently teaches in Alexandria, Virginia. In addition to teaching, she enjoys writing children&#x27;s books, promoting other children&#x27;s book authors that positively represent diverse characters, and creating educational content for families on her YouTube channel, Mighty Minutes with Ms. Debbie. She currently resides in Prince George&#x27;s County, Maryland with her beautiful family.<a href="https://sites.google.com/view/msdebbieskidscorner/shop" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> https://sites.google.com/view/msdebbieskidscorner/shop</a>

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