The 2013 NAACP Image Awards will be presented on February 1.
Writer Beverly Jenkins, has been nominated for a 2013 NAACP Image Award in the Literary Work - Fiction category for her book A Wish and a Prayer: a Blessings Novel.
Jenkins, a writer of African-American historical romance fiction and has received numerous awards including five Waldenbooks/Borders Group Best Sellers Awards; two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine; a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer's Guild, and was named one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nation's largest online African-American book club.
We’ve had the pleasure of meeting this classy poised lady once, and absolutely had to have an interview.
The questions barraged out—uncontainable.
- Were you surprised by the nomination?
- How did you find out you were nominated?
- What were you doing at the time?
- What was the first thought that crossed your mind?
Jenkins responded in the same manner which has brought about the boundless respect many have for this lady.
“Being nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Fiction, took me totally by surprise. I’d just finished writing Destiny’s Surrender which is the second book in my new historical series, and when I resurfaced to the world, I thought I’d pay my FB fans a visit to let them know I was done and to see what they’d been up to in the week or so I’d been underground. Lo and behold there were postings congratulating me on the image Award nomination! I was sure they had me confused with that other great writer Brenda Jackson because she and I share the initials BJ and readers sometimes do that. I also knew Brenda had been nominated last year, so I just assumed the readers had done it again. Well, when they began posting the links to the nomination list and I saw my name along with my book A Wish and A Prayer, I almost fell out of my chair. I immediately emailed my editor at Harper Erika Tsang and my agent Nancy Yost to give them the great news. Their excitement equaled mine. I’m nominated along with a group of fantastic writers. I know most of them and have had the good fortune of either touring with them or signing with them at various events and I’m honored to be included. The Image Award is so prestigious that frankly winning for me is secondary. Just being recognized by this historic organization is more than enough to make this writer proud.”
Though all are worthy of this nomination, many hold special hope that it goes to Beverly Jenkins.
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