Bancroft Press in the MediA

Sam Webber 1 of only 2 novels -- & most recent -- named best ABFFE book on youth and violence

Baltimore (October 1, 1999) --The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, in a list announced this week of the 30 best books dealing with violence and youth, nominated The Reappearance of Sam Webber (ISBN 1890862029).

The book, published by Bancroft Press in Baltimore and written by award-winning Baltimore author Jonathan Scott Fuqua, was one of only two books of fiction to make ABFFE's list, and the book most recently published.

ABFFE, on the basis of recommendations by its board of directors, booksellers, and publishers, prepared and released the national list for two reasons: 1) to help booksellers recommend titles to customers concerned about youth violence in the U.S., particularly after the spate of school shootings this year; and 2) as Publishers Weekly put it, "to add a dose of reality to the debate over violence among young people, which some in Congress are saying is mainly attributable to the media."

ABFFE described The Reappearance of Sam Webber as "the story of an 11-year-old boy in Baltimore who must find a way of surviving after he and his mother are abandoned by his father and forced to move to a poorer neighborhood, where Sam is threatened by the middle-school bully."

In a statement prepared and released by the author after the teenage rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado, Fuqua had observed: "Having experienced the terrible, numbing sensation of adult and childhood depression, I have always told people suffering from the illness that, once healed, they had a responsibility to extend a hand to others similarly tormented. I've tried to live by this rule -- it is the way true communities work. And those vital interactions are the crux of my book about a suffering adolescent and the people who swarm to his aid -- who carry, cajole, and discuss before Sam is overwhelmed and provoked into violence.

"No matter what is done, some people in our society will commit violent acts that are tragic and senseless. Still, it is impossible to dispute the importance of an attentive parent, guardian, or friend when a person is depressed, angry, or confused. If my book could achieve one result, it would be the simple initiation of conversation between those in pain and the people around them. No one should suffer in silence. And no one within a community should endure alone when people they see daily can open their ears and minds, can listen and hear, and maybe reach out and save."

Just this week, Fuqua's book, his first, was also nominated for the ALEX Award. Co-sponsored by Booklist Magazine and the American Librarian Association (ALA) Youth Services Division, the Award is given annually to the 10 best adult books for children.

Fuqua is available for media appearances and interviews, as well as school readings and talks. To make arrangements, contact him directly at 410-366-8436 and 410-366-3236 (fax).