• The Department of Literacy is excited to announce the titles selected as our 2023 Local Authors Panel winners! These books were reviewed and selected by educators and students in the District. The Department of Literacy hosts the Local Authors' Panel each spring as an opportunity for local authors to share their craft in DPSCD's classroom libraries. Each year, the department:

    • Collects applications from local authors who wish to have their work featured in DPSCD classroom libraries
    • Assembles a panel of teachers to review the submitted titles for craft, relevance and quality 
    • Provides principals with a list of approved titles and purchasing instructions should they wish to supplement classroom libraries using their school-based budgets

     

    2023 Selected Local Author Texts

    Title Author
    A Day in the D with Dad Kelli Felder
    A Girl Called Round Shervonne Taylor
    A Recipe For Success! Charles Ellis
    Annie's Fashion Passion & Purpose An'Drese Hopkins
    Balancing Your Own Center of Gravity: A Manual
    for Hyperproductive Stem Professionals    		 Jasmine L. Sadler
    Day to Day Impact An'Drese Hopkins
    Don't Count Me Out! Welton Smith
    Finding My Way: A Practical Guide to College
    Success    		 Jahquan Hawkins
    Home Sweet Sanctuary: Idlewild Families
    Celebrations    		 Gloria House
    I am Royalty Michelle Anderson
    I Like Who I Am, I Love Being Me! Patrice Lee
    Is It My Fault? Divorce from a Child's Perspective Michelle Anderson
    It's About The Boys! Patrice Lee
    Kathy Learns To Cope Kathy Rudolph
    Little Brown Me Qiana Knight
    Love Radio Ebony LaDelle
    Mashed Potatoes in the Sky Francie Stevenson
    Ms. Periwinkle, The Purple in My Rainbow Voncile Campbell
    My Dog Dan Tyrus Kendrix
    My Future is So Bright Dream Big Crisette Ellis
    Real Outreach: A Practical Guide to Retaining 
    and Graduating College Students    		 Ezella Mc Pherson
    Sandpaper Ravenn Moore
    Ten Singing Cockatiels Yvette Daniels
    The Adventures of Bonnie Saves-A-Lot: Bonnie
    Discovers Money    		 Robert Culpepper III
    The Adventures of Buddy & Sissy: My First Day of
    School    		 Jimmie King
    The Adventures of Buddy & Sissy: My Summer
    Vacation    		 Jimmie King
    The Adventures of Roscoe The Rottweiler, Roscoe
    Gets A New Home    		 Susan Wade
    The Case of the Missing Cupcake! Tyrus Kendrix
    The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman's
    Journey to Every Country in the World    		 Jessica Nabongo
    The Giggle Game Dr. Darya Owens
    The Music on the Bus Yvette Daniels
    The Nyla Chronicles: Nyla's First Day of
    Kindergarten    		 Tenita Johnson
    The Queen of Jacks Alethea Smith
    The Rebel Factory: Ascension Dr. Germaine Pentsil
    The Unexpected Leader: Discovering The Leader
    Within You    		 Jacqueline Baker
    There's Nothing Wrong With Me Dr. Tania M. Kemp-Covington
    We Are STEM Stars: Volume 2 - A Need to
    Survive Treasure Hunt    		 Demetria Hoskins
    Where's My Piggy Bank LaToiya Tolliver-Revell

     

  • Interested in Being a Featured DPSCD Local Author?

    The Local Author’s Panel will convene again in December 2023. To be notified when the application is open, complete this brief interest form.
     

    Local Author Catalog

    Building administrators can use the Local Authors Catalog found on the Curriculum & Instruction Hub to follow the same purchasing process for any other school goods or services. Visit it to learn more about book descriptions, genres, target grades, cost, etc. 

    Panel Process

    • Teachers apply to review books on the selection committee 
    • Local authors complete the online application and provide physical samples of texts to the Office of Literacy, 9th Floor, Fisher Building, 3011 E. Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48202
    • Selection committee convenes to review submitted books 
    • Selection committee solicits student input
    • Selection committee submits final feedback
    • Authors notified of committee selections
    • Catalog of books are made available for school-level purchases


    Questions?

    Contact Choya Stovall in the Office of Literacy.