The Book: Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale callaloothebook.com callaloothebook@gmail.com

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2 About Callaloo The Book: Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale follows Winston, a young inner city boy who goes to Brooklyn, NY to get ingredients for his Aunt s callaloo dinner when he is magically transported to the Caribbean island of Tobago. On the island, he encounters the mythical folkloric characters that roam the island. Winston s fears and fantasies fuse together as the reality of his situation becomes dire. He must find his way out of this haunting paradise or risk being lost forever. For children ages 3-7. Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale was released to general public January 2014 Our focus: The book provides an opportunity for young readers to be exposed to the culture and history of the Caribbean. The book is full of Caribbean cultural references, historical folklore characters, language and dialect that will encourage multi-cultural conversations, interest in international lifestyles and promote diversity amongst young people. change of character Callaloo features a main character named Winston that is unusual to the children s book world. Winston is an eight year old Caribbean-American boy from New York City. Winston s character encourages cross-cultural dialogues on first and second generation immigrant families. Callaloo provides a chance for all kids to learn and celebrate the Caribbean and Caribbean-American cultures. It also will provide children of color and of Caribbean descent an opportunity to read stories that feature their cultural backgrounds, experiences through multi-cultural storytelling while promoting diversity.

3 The Creators The Author Marjuan Canady is originally from Washington, DC with Trinidadian/Black American roots, Marjuan Canady is a writer, actress, playwright, director and producer for both film and the stage. Her original works have received commissions from Harlem Stage and DC Commission on the Arts. Her one-woman play, Girls! Girls? Girls. has been featured Off-Broadway, national festivals as well as at over fifty national universities. Her second play, Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale has been seen at the Ellington Theater in Washington, DC and IATI Theater in New York City. Canady also served as a featured playwright at the 2013 Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Director s Lab for her play Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale. A Matteo Ricci and Schomburg Mellon Fellow, Canady has worked as an educator and image activist at various schools, community centers and institutions across the country. She is the founder and creative director of her entertainment production company Sepia Works, LLC which produces live events, programming, videography and design services. Marjuan is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and holds a B.A. in Theater/African Studies from Fordham University and her M.A. in Arts Politics from New York University s Tisch School of the Arts. Canady is currently producing a short film in Trinidad, West Indies entitled The Resort, as well as directing a documentary, Girls! Girls? Girls set to release in Spring The illustrator Nabeeh Bilal is an Illustrator, Animator, Designer, and Creative Director. He was born in California and raised in Washington, DC. He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he was classically trained as a visual arts major. He graduated from Temple University in 2009 with a BFA in graphic and interactive design. In 2010, he founded a multi-media production studio named CreativeJunkFood with two fellow schoolmates. Nabeeh approached Marjuan Canady with the idea to create Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale the children s book after seeing her play (of the same name) because he saw the cultural significance in telling a folklore that not many people know about, but one that many people should be aware of. Callaloo gives representation to Caribbean folklore in way that hasn t really been done before.

4 Press Online Radio Print Washington Post Trinidad Express Caribbean Current Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Media Color Magazine WAMU Art Beat with Lauren Landau South Florida Caribbean News Sirius XM, The Maggie Linton Show 900AM WURD Radio WTBQ 93.5FM WAMU Art Beat with Lauren Landau Caribbeana with Von Martin The Washington Post Trinidad and Tobago Guardian East of the River Magazine

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6 Sales Callaloo by The numbers To date, Callaloo has sold over 400 copies. Our sales have come from a combination of preorders, in-person sales, and print on demand sales (POD). We sold 80 books in November 2013 as part of a pre-order offering of limited edition copies, and since the book was released to the general public in January 2014, we have sold an additional 320 copies of our limited edition print. Additionally, the book was made available for print on demand April 28, 2014, and has been gaining sales momentum ever since.

7 Callaloo on the go Where we ve been The magic of Callaloo has thrilled audiences at The Zimmer Museum (Los Angeles) The National Children s Museum (DC) The Smithsonian (DC) Weeksville Heritage Center (NY) La Casa Azul Bookstore (NY) Kensington Day of the Book Festival (MD) East of the River Book Festival (DC) Martin Luther King Jr. Library (DC) National Library of Trinidad and Tobago Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (DC) Leith Walk Elementary (MD) Baltimore Book Festival (MD) Children s Hospital (DC)

8 What we ve done Just the beginning...here s what we ve done so far, and we re just getting started. Self-published Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale Wrote and produced The Callaloo Song Created The Callaloo Song Music Video Released Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale audio book Won the First Time Author s Award (National Library of Trinidad and Tobago) Callaloo book launch at the Smithsonian Callaloo is now sold in bookstores in DC and NY Teamed with the Qlovi E-literacy organization The Callaloo Song is available on itunes

9 Coming soon? imagine the Possibilities With a growing fanbase and potential through the roof, there s no shortage of avenues for the Callaloo brand. The Callaloo book series Callaloo Television series Callaloo online shop In Libraries and schools Callaloo sing-a-long album Live performances

10 Reviews what our readers think Here s what our readers are saying about the magic of Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale Loved it! A rich folktale emphasizing the importance of listening to your elders! The illustrations are bold, colorful and animated! I definitely recommend it and will be giving one to my new nephew! I really enjoyed the Trinidadian folk culture. It s not too often that you would find a picture book that focuses on Caribbean culture, and so Callaloo holds a unique place in children s literature. Callaloo is a great book for kids! I like that it teaches them about not being so greedy. The main character is Winston and he is absolutely adorable. Winston meets some scary characters in this book, but nothing that kids haven t seen in a Disney movie. My kids love this book! Would love to see what happens in the next one. Recently bought a copy for my niece and nephew and it has been one of their favorites ever since. Large pictures, cute characters, and a good story keeps themactively engaged. They love learning the new words and have even started repeating them. Keep up the good work! My kids absolutely love this book! Very happy with it! Winston is adorable and I can t wait for the next book in this series.

11 Currently available Experience Callaloo today Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale is available online, in bookstores, and libraries. Amazon.com Apple ibooks Barnes and Noble Nook Portico Bookstore (DC) La Casa Azul Bookstore (NY) Qlovi (National E-Literacy Library Organization) National Library of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad, WI) University of West Indies St. Augustine Library (Trinidad, WI) The Anacostia Boutique Gallery (DC) *Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale audio book is available for free download at callaloothebook.com

12 contact contact us today :) We d love to hear from you. Please use the information below to reach out to us. Callaloo Website Press Inquiries Alimou Diallo alimou.diallo15@gmail.com General Inquiries Tatiana Johnson callaloothebook@gmail.com Facebook Twitter