Episode 3: A Conversation with Steven Zacharius

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.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform so you don't miss an episode! 

Got an idea or question? Email us: blackromancehistory@gmail.com

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