Episode 3: A Conversation with Steven Zacharius

Black Romance Has A History

Thanks again to Steven Zacharius for joining us for a great conversation about the history of Kensington Publishing Corp. and Arabesque in particular.

The launch of Arabesque was greeted with fanfare by Romantic Times, including this great cover:

The profile article inside includes interviews with launch authors Sandra Kitt, Francis Ray, and editor Monica Harris.

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music by Purple Planet

Follow the hosts on the interwebs:

Steve Ammidown

Website: https://romancehistory.com/about/

Socials

IG: @romancehistorian

Bluesky: @stegan.bsky.social

Nicole M. Jackson/Katrina Jackson

Websites:

https://www.katrinajacksonauthor.com

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/history/faculty-and-staff/nicole-jackson.html

Socials

IG: @katjacksonbooks

Mentioned in this Episode

“About Dafina” (2020) https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/pages/dafina/about-dafina/

African American Literature Book Club, “Walter Zacharius, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Kensington Publishing”, YouTube, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJKiUATP5k

Steven Zacharius, “Zebra’s E-Talk”, Romantic Tiimes. February, 1994. https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/119-zebra-online.jpg

Michelle Monkou, “In Memory of Monica Harris Mindolovich”, USA Today. November 2012. https://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2012/11/18/monica-harris-mindolovich-editor-entrepreneur-in-memoriam/1713295/

“Ten Years of Sizzling Chocolate Kisses and Lasting Love: now under BET Books, Arabesque Celebrates a Decade as Black Romance Publisher,” Reprint, The Free Library, https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ten+years+of+sizzling+chocolate+kisses+and+lasting+love%3A+now+under...-a0118954930

“Kensington Adds and Subtracts,” Publisher’s Weekly, June 29, 1998, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19980629/29408-pw-kensington-adds-and-subtracts.html

“Kensington Returns to the African-American Market, Publishers Weekly, October 13, 2003. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20031013/25116-kensington-returns-to-african-american-market.html

Further Reading/Listening

Arabesque profile in Romantic Times, July 1994: Page 1, Page 2.

Special Issue: Black Romance, Journal of Popular Romance Studies. https://www.jprstudies.org/issues/volume-11-general-articles-2/special-issue-black-romance/

Jamee Pritchard, “That 90's Kind of Love: the Rise of African American Romance Novels in Traditional Romance Publishing”, 2021. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2712/

Black Romance Podcast, “Sandra Kitt”. August, 2020. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/sandra-kitt

Black Romance Podcast, “Francis Ray and Anna Larence with Michelle Ray, Ann Fields and Margo Hendricks (Elysabeth Grace)“. May, 2023. https://blackromancepodcast.libsyn.com/francis-ray-and-anna-larence-with-michelle-ray-ann-fields-and-margo-hendricks-elysabeth-grace

Steve Ammidown, “Talking with the Inclusive Romance Project: An Incomplete History of the 20th century Romance Novel,” https://romancehistory.com/2023/05/23/talking-with-the-inclusive-romance-project/

Joshua Clark Davis, “The FBI’s War in Black Bookstores,” The Atlantic, February 19, 2018, ​​https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/fbi-black-bookstores/553598/

“The oldest operating Black book cub meets right here in New Jersey, New Jersey News 12, February 11, 2022, https://newjersey.news12.com/the-oldest-operating-black-book-club-in-the-us-meets-right-here-in-new-jersey

“28 Publications from Dafina,” https://aalbc.com/authors/imprint.php?imprint=Dafina

Judith Rosen, “Romance: Love Is All Around You”, Publisher’s Weekly, November 8, 1999. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19991108/28599-romance-love-is-all-around-you.html