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    Ms. Magazine Names It's No Wonder a Most Anticipated Feminist Book of 2026

    It's No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown's Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy has earned a stamp of approval from Ms. magazine! 

    ​The celebrated biography about Hitsville U.S.A.'s first woman to earn a multi-hyphenate in the role as both songwriter and producer in the Sixties while working simultaneously, consistently, and consecutively alongside all men is listed among The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2026. 

    When Ms. was launched as a “one-shot” sample insert in New York magazine in December 1971, few realized it would become the landmark institution in both women’s rights and American journalism that it is today. The founders of Ms., many of whom are now household names, helped to shape contemporary feminism, with Ms. editors and authors translating “a movement into a magazine.”

    Ms. was the first U.S. magazine to feature prominent American women demanding the repeal of laws that criminalized abortion, the first to explain and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, to rate presidential candidates on women’s issues, to put domestic violence and sexual harassment on its cover, to commission and feature a national study on date rape and to blow the whistle on the undue influence of advertising on magazine journalism. In short, Ms. was the first national magazine to make feminist voices audible, feminist journalism tenable and a feminist worldview available to the public.

    Read the complete list and learn about others who made the list. 

    It's No Wonder is available for preorder and released everywhere on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. 

    Media contact
    Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director
    Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo
    ​Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com


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    Library Journal Reviews It's No Wonder

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    Library Journal is a long‑running American trade publication for librarians. Founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey (yes, the Dewey Decimal System Dewey), it is one of the most influential professional magazines in the library world.​

    It's No Wonder is available for preorder and released everywhere on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. 

    Media contact
    Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director
    Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo
    ​Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com
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    It's No Wonder Earns Booklist Starred Review

    Booklist is the official book review magazine of the American Library Association. 

    For over 100 years Booklist magazine has helped tens of thousands of librarians as a book review source, and readers’ advisory, collection development, and professional development resource. It delivers 8,000+ recommended-only reviews of books, audiobooks, and reference sources each year, spanning every age and genre.

    ​It's No Wonder is available for preorder and released everywhere on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. 


    Media contact
    Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director
    Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo
    ​Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com

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    It's No Wonder Kicks Off New Year in High Gear

    The official release date for It's No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown's Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy is Tuesday, February 10, 2026, but current preorders are already creating their own buzz! The biography about the female music pioneer is not only new, but it is newsworthy and noteworthy.

    With a frequently updated sales status on Amazon, so far It's No Wonder has earned "#1 New Release" mentions in multiple categories such as the following: R&B and Soul, Music Reference, Soul Music, History of Race and Ethnicity, and Audible Audiobook.

    If nothing else, the top distinctions clearly indicate the book's high visibility, signaling that it's trending and performing well on the world's largest online retailer. Early praise along with editorial reviews about the historical corrective have also been impressive, including one from Kirkus Reviews. 

    Da Capo is an imprint of Grand Central, which is a Division of the Hachette Book Group.

    Media contact for It's No Wonder 
    Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director
    Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo
    ​Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com
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    Here's to New Beginnings...

    I'm wishing each of you a happy, healthy, safe, prosperous and blessed New Year! Keep the faith and trust the process.  #OnwardUpward 
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    It’s No Wonder Receives High Praise From Kirkus Reviews

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    When it comes to delivering book reviews, nobody serves them better than one of the most respected voices in publishing, Kirkus. Long known for brutal honesty with eagle-eyed, razor sharp reviewers, authors know that a single word or an entire sentence has the power to make or break someone’s career. That’s because in the literary world, Kirkus is synonymous with being authoritarian as it relates to publishers, librarians, booksellers, and, oh, serious readers.

    So receiving a mention and a favorable exploration are more than just a pat on the back by the esteemed American book review magazine. Let’s be clear that it has been hard earned. It’s no wonder (no pun intended) that Dr. Christian’s book, It’s No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown’s Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy, received both in recognizing her ability to bring Moy’s quiet genius to life! Not bad for her first major review with the book and her first Kirkus recognition.

    Kirkus acknowledges the forthcoming biography and the way it reclaims a pivotal figure in music and in Motown history whose contributions were long overshadowed. “A pioneering musician rescued from obscurity” is how Kirkus declares it. 

    The online review was released Friday, August 29, and the printed version will be published in the October magazine.  

    Dr. Christian’s distinctive background as a seasoned professional journalist and academic scholar positions her to conduct research through an intersectional lens at the crossroads of media, education, popular culture, and historical inquiry. Her aim has been to do restorative work through education where she strives to address erasure when dominant narratives overlook marginalized, underrepresented female and minority voices in media and in entertainment.

    It’s No Wonder, which serves as more than a biography but also as a historical corrective, challenges through an immersive and culturally anchored approach who controls the narrative and determines how history is shaped when her story is excluded.

    February 10, 2026, is the official release date, but preorders are available now.


    For more information, contact the following: Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director of Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo, at Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com







     

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