Why Can't We Make The New York Times Bestsellers List?
http://forum.blogadvance.com/viewtopic.php?p=33427#33427

I am drawing more attention to our writers in American and European forums. The above is on a popular blog forum. My mission is to increase the mileage and patronage of Nigerian and other African writers of fiction. See the on going discussion and once I see your replies, I will now tell them over there to join us here as I have done on other sites.

Let us cross borders and build bridges to close the gaps between us and other cultures.

I am going to break all the barriers to our international breakthrough into make international bestsellers.

@orikinla

admirable work

Pls could u tell me what u think of this writing? https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-20572.0.html

Because we don't live in New York. We can easily create our own bestseller list. It's just a marketing tool.

Orikinla,

Consider this thought,Americans/Europeans don't give a F**Ck about African writers and books,please do not be deceived by reviews of African Books by the BBC and other African forums.
The man on the street cares about what happens to Americans and Europeans,books that make on western list are books that cause a sensation like Davinci Code Harry Porter,if black film makers are finding it hard to break into main stream cinema how much more writers,when they west want to see Africa they watch Discovery Channel
Purple Hibiscus made it up the New York bestseller list because Oprah Winfrey discussed it on her show,if you want to make on that list,I suggest you contact Oprah

Courtney(http://forum.blogadvance.com/viewtopic.php?p=33451#33451),

I am an African Nigerian. And I read books regardless of the class, creed and race of the author once I am interested in the subject. And when I became a member of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), I read all the American books given to me for the year as I paid for the newly released books.

My point is; the backgrounds of the authors should not discourage us from reading their books if the subjects are interesting.

The exotic experiences of other cultures should be of interest to us. We should broaden our knowledge of other lives.

I have read Shakespeare and I actually consider myself an authority on Shakespeare. But my favourite writers are Franz Kafka, Leo Tolstoy and Wole Soyinka.

We Africans have read more of American and European writers than you Americans and Europeans have read our own African writers. And sincerely I regard African intellectuals more enlightened than American and European intellectuals. And pick up the best collection of poems by any contemporary American or European poet and compare the book to my own collection of poems Scarlet Tears of London and without any doubt, you would be convinced that I am more cosmopolitan and more of a universal poet than these American and European poets who do not see or care much about the existential realities of other cultures of the human race.

I am concerned about what my fellow humans are going through in America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa, because we should share in the common reality of our common humanity. We all bleed the same red blood even if we don't eat the same food.

Intellectual ignorance and arrogance have done us more harm than good.

I just read a World Health Organization (WHO) report that over 60 million people attempt to commit suicide every year and about 1 million of them succeed.
More die from suicide than wars, murders: experts
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060908/hl_nm/suicide_un_dc

I am now addressing this critical situation of suicidal thoughts with another writer in Malaysia and a friend in Japan on how we should write stories to discourage suicide in our different communities. Because, suicide is universal.

We must not be selfish writers and selfish readers.
The lives of other people in other parts of the world should concern us. Because we are all on the same space ship Planet Earth and we all struggle for survival and better life no matter our location in this world.

I have written how I felt about the catastrophes of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Asian Tsunami, Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Congo, Middle East and other places and I also talk about the triumphant lovers overcoming heartbreaks, relationships with a Muslim girl whose brother is a suicide bomber, moments of sadness and the joys of life and other challenges, because we have to share our experiences of the vicissitudes of our chequered life in these interesting times of our common history.
_________________
For the love of London,
http://scarlettearsoflondon..com

Mr.Mayor, Purple Hibiscus hasnt made it to the NY times bestselling list, and I doubt if Oprah has talked publicly about the book on her show. If her novel was a NYTimes bestseller, I am certain that it would have appeared on the cover page of her novel. That you are not a NY times bestseller, does not automatically mean that your novels have not sold well. Adichie's novel have sold remarkably well in London and has acquired a bestseller status out there.

New york times best sellers list dosen't mean much, I can give you a sizeable number of novels which are newyork bestsellers list that are cramps, Let's do ourown local naija bestsellers list and look for sponsorship