Assessment: In 2002 Eric Jerome Dickey was also chosen as the number one favorite author. We are not surprised he was bestowed this honor in 2005 either. It may have to do with the fact that Eric has consistently released novels, or short stories in various anthologies, during his 10-year career. Don't forget Eric's newest release Genevieve will be released on May 10th of this year. In addition, readers appear to just enjoy his writing style and his ability to write convincingly in a female voice. Congratulations Eric Jerome Dickey.

Other favorite authors include Kimberla Lawson Roby, who has made tremendous strides with her books that feature the infamous Pastor Curtis Black (The Best-Kept Secret); E. Lynn Harris, who's next novel The Greatest Pretenders will be released in summer 2006. Then there's the very successful Carl Weber (The Preacher's Son), and Zane, author of the New York Times Best Seller Afterburn. Zane is one writer that has commanded well-deserved attention - she is another prolific writer that keeps her name on the tongues of readers and the media as evidenced by the great exposure she's received in 2005 from Ebony and Essence magazines.

The remaining authors that were considered favorites are comprised of a wide variety of genres. Because favorite author is an open-ended question, readers selected authors that are not necessarily African-American, but nevertheless are considered favorites. This suggests that readers prefer reading a variety of genres, writing styles, and aren't necessarily devoted to one single category. People enjoy flavor, want variety, and aren't afraid to take risks when it comes to finding out what kinds of books they want to read. All in all, a total of 206 authors were considered favorites.

What is surprising, however, is the number of authors that were not mentioned. It appears that the writers who tend to have more current releases, say the past 2 to 3 years, are the authors that first come to mind. However, excluding classic or old-school writers, if an author only has had one release, or if its been many years since his or her last release, they very well could be omitted from this type of survey. What are your thoughts on this? Email me at bookremarks@aol.com to discuss.

The bottom line --- authors please continue releasing quality product, strongly market and promote your books, establish a strong presence in the marketplace because readers want to continue supporting you and reading books by their favorite authors!

And whether you made the top 37 list, or received an honorable mention, congratulations to all of the authors, poets, non-fiction writers, street fiction, mystery writers, debut authors, self-published authors, literary writers, romance, horror, every single category that you represent. Bravo!