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Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair

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Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair

📚✨ Save the Date for Sat, Nov 14, 2026 for Second Annual Book Fair. This is a Celebration of Black Literature, Creativity & Culture!

Meet Black Authors, Enjoy a Kids Corner, Free Headshots, Poetry Workshop & Lunch. Let’s Come Together in Community! ✨🖤

10/18/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Seventh Registered Author for the 2nd Annual Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair! ✨📚

We’re excited to welcome Alexandria James!

Alexandria James has been writing for as long as she can remember. Starting from writing in a computer game notebook, to writing a series of stories about lost things at the age of 6 to self-publishing a series of books about a contemporary little girl at the age of 9. When she was 15, she and her mom started a business, where they sold books, bookmarks, calendars, and shirts.

In 2017, she won the bronze medal in the NAACP ACT-SO National Competition for one of her books, Natila’s Worst Day Ever in the short story contest. The story was about Natila, a character from one of her books, having a bad day at summer camp (inspired by personal experiences).

In 2023, she got a short story, Even Angels Have Flaws, published in Parousia Magazine, about an angel who wishes to be perfect. Today, Alexandria is still writing and wants to branch out in multiple genres and age groups. She is hoping to be a hybrid author, seeking traditional publishing while continuing to self publish. And she is turning the Natila series, which she has been writing and self-publishing since 9 into a chapter book series. Her upcoming short story "A Dog's Grief" will be published later this year, about a dog grieving the loss of his owner.

Featured at the 2026 Champaign-Urbana Black Authors Book Fair

📖 Natila’s Worst Day Ever
📖 Natila and the Goose
📖 Rose’s Mother’s Day
📖 The Unique Artist Talent
📖 Natila’s Easter
📖 Natila and the Crocodile
📖 Natila Visits With Her Grandparents

👉 Follow Alexandria James
☁️ Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/authoralexsjames.bsky.social.
💌Twitter: https://x.com/author_alex.
🎶 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/.
📘Facebook: Alexandria James
📚Lulu: https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=Alexandria+James&page=1&pageSize=10

10/16/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Sixth Registered Author for the 2nd Annual Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair! ✨📚

We’re excited to welcome Mark McCalleb!

From Chicago’s South Side to Published Author

We are excited to introduce Mark McCalleb, a proud Chicago native, born and raised on the city’s South Side. Educated in Chicago schools, Mark developed a love for reading at an early age, particularly stories filled with suspense, mystery, and horror. His natural gift for storytelling has earned him recognition among his peers as one of the most captivating storytellers around.

Mark’s journey as a writer began unexpectedly in the third grade, with a simple book report that would ultimately change the course of his creative life.

After submitting a report that closely repeated the original story word for word, his teacher returned the assignment and instructed him to rewrite it. Not fully understanding what was expected, young Mark took a different approach. Rather than simply summarizing the book, he completely reimagined the story, creating a new plot filled with his own ideas, opinions, and imagination.

Although his rewritten story still wasn't exactly what the assignment required, his teacher recognized something extraordinary: a young boy with the imagination and natural ability to create a compelling story out of almost anything. Instead of discouraging him, she acknowledged his creativity and encouraged his gift for writing.

That moment planted a seed that would stay with Mark for the rest of his life.

As the years passed, life brought new responsibilities. Between building a career, working hard, and raising his three children, Mark found himself putting his writing dreams on hold. But while his pen may have rested, his imagination never did. His passion for creativity and storytelling remained a constant part of who he was.

In 2022, Mark's extraordinary creativity gained public attention when his massive, intricately designed Christmas village was featured on NBC News. The recognition became more than just a celebration of his artistic talent. It served as a powerful reminder of the creative spirit he had carried since childhood.

Inspired by that experience, Mark made a life-changing decision: It was time to pick up the pen again, bring his imagination to life, and fulfill his dream of becoming a published author.

Beyond his literary accomplishments, Mark is equally dedicated to his professional responsibilities and giving back to his community. He currently works in the Safety Department of a chemical company, helping promote workplace safety and the well-being of others. He also serves on the board of The Salvation Army, supporting efforts to assist individuals experiencing homelessness and those in need.

From a third-grade classroom on Chicago's South Side to becoming a published author, Mark McCalleb's journey is a testament to perseverance, imagination, and the importance of never giving up on a dream.

His story reminds us that sometimes our greatest gifts are discovered in the most unexpected moments—and that it's never too late to turn a childhood passion into a lifelong achievement.

For Mark McCalleb, storytelling isn't simply something he does. It's a part of who he is. Mark's current project is creating a series of children's books about his kids titled "The Mischievous Three".

Featured at the 2026 Champaign-Urbana Black Authors Book Fair

📖 Social Distance: Book 1
📖 Social Distance: Book 2
📖 Social Distance: Book 3
📖 Statewide: A Social Distance Story

👉 Follow Mark McCalleb
📚 Barnes & Noble: https://share.google/rccXLwjfiBpvdKtPY
📸 Instagram: Mark McCalleb
📘 Facebook: Mark McCalleb
🛍️Wal-Mart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/3690530210?sid=7ecf6e5b-25f7-4d73-9a4d-0b7eb98a314f
✍🏽Archway Publishing: https://share.google/IqNFhmrH37LtEy3C1

10/02/2026

Hey Family,

Unfortunately we are cancelling the Freedom Spelling Bee due to lack of sign ups. I am in love with the vision!!! Yet, I will rework it and bring it back before the Lord. Although, I am extremely disappointed, I remain hopeful for what is to come.

May you be able to look grief in the face and still find gratitude.

With Love,
Airiel 🫶🏽

10/01/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Fifth Registered Author for the 2nd Annual Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair! ✨📚

We’re excited to welcome Dr. Mechelle Moore, LSW!

Dr. Mechelle Moore, LSW, is an author, Identity Architect, licensed social worker, Master Certified Life and Spiritual Life Coach, and founder of Re-EstablishHER Global Suite, LLC, an ecosystem dedicated to healing, identity restoration, personal development, and faith-centered growth.

With over 20 years of experience in behavioral health, mental health, and addiction recovery, Dr. Moore integrates professional expertise, lived experience, faith, and authorship to address trauma, grief and loss, relational wounds, rejection, distorted identity, emotional healing, and generational cycle’s & patterns. Her work is especially centered on helping women move beyond surface-level healing toward sustainable restoration, healthier patterns, and a stronger understanding of who they are.

Her heart for restoration also extends to youth, particularly young girls navigating grief, identity struggles, emotional dysregulation, rejection, relational wounds, and people-pleasing. Through the Re-EstablishHER Global Suite ecosystem, she is building resources and conversations that create space for both women and the next generation to heal, restore identity, and move forward with greater clarity and purpose.

Dr. Moore is the author of Abba Father, May I Heal? From Broken Wells to Living Water: Healing the Father Wound and Restoring Identity and Identifying YOU: Four Stages of Recovery to Understanding Your Royalty. She has also contributed to six collaborative literary projects. She is the founder and publisher of Re-EstablishHER Magazine, a quarterly publication extending conversations around healing, identity, restoration, faith, and real-life experiences.

Her work carries one consistent message: healing is more than surviving what happened. It requires confronting what wounded you, restoring what was distorted, and establishing your identity from a place of truth, wholeness, and purpose.

Featured at the 2026 Champaign-Urbana Black Authors Book Fair

📖 Abba Father, May I Heal? From Broken Wells to Living Water: Healing the Father Wound and Restoring Identity
📖 Identifying YOU: Four Stages of Recovery to Understanding Your Royalty
📖 Re-EstablishHER Magazine

👉 Follow Dr. Mechelle Moore, LSW:
🌐 Website: https://www.distinctlymechellemoore.com
📸 Instagram:
📘 Facebook:
▶️ YouTube:

09/27/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Fourth Registered Author for the 2nd Annual Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair! ✨📚

We’re excited to welcome Rev. Dr. Eugene Barnes!

Rev. Dr. Eugene Barnes, Founder & Executive Director of the Metanoia Centers, a 501(c)(3) community-based organization founded in 2000, brings a wealth of diverse experience to his work. Dr. Barnes graduated Cum Laude from Slidell Baptist Seminary in 2001. His expertise in employment, economic development, community organizing, youth development, technology, and banking/housing has been a catalyst for improving the physical and financial health of communities. Starting with the NAACP in 1965, and with over 50 years of experience in social work and community organizing, hisunderstanding of the complexities of community change is enriched by his experience in private and public caregiving institutions. He has founded nearly 80 national nonprofits. His most recent accomplishment was being invited to the White House in 2010 by President Barack Obama for the signing of the historic Financial Reform Bill. Dr. Barnes is listed in the 2000 edition of Who’s Who of International Entrepreneurs and has embraced a new platform for sharing his experiences and emboldening his audience: podcasting (Revelation Unveiled: An Untold Story).

📖 Masami Ko
📖 Chained in Darkness Anthology
📖 When Breaks the Maelstrom

👉 Follow Rev. Dr. Eugene Barnes:
🌐 Website: https://eugenebarnesauthor.com/
🎧 Podcast: Revelation Unveiled, An Untold Story
📸 Instagram:
📁 LinkedIn: Rev. Dr. Eugene Barnes

09/20/2026

📚✨ Meet Our Third Registered Author for the 2nd Annual Champaign Urbana Black Authors Book Fair! ✨📚

We’re excited to welcome Stacy Adams - Author!

Stacy Adams holds a bachelor's degree from Clark Atlanta University, and a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Stacy is the author of two novels, Hurt But Not Harmed and her new release, The Hood. Stacy is also a contributor to the anthology, Word to Your Mother.

As a native of Chicago’s South Side, Stacy writes from the depth of her experiences to enlighten readers and inspire social change.

📖 Hurt But Not Harmed
📖 Word To Your Mother
📖 The Hood

👉 Follow Stacy Adams
🌐 Website: https://sociatap.com/StacyAdams/
📸 Instagram:
📘 Facebook: -author
▶️ YouTube:
🎶 Tik Tok: .adams.author

09/18/2026

"If one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture you would be liberating not only Negroes, you'd be liberating white people who know nothing about their own history." - James Baldwin ❤️💚🖤

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