• Published on

    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
    December 31, 2025 and January 4/9-27, 2026
    January 1, 2026
    January 1/5/28, 2026
    January 1, 2026
    January 2/3/5/6/7, 2026
    January 3/4/17, 2026
    January 3/4/17, 2026
    January 4, 9-27, 2026
    January 27, 2026
    January 27/28, 2026
  • Published on

    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 
    Picture
  • Published on

    It’s No Wonder Receives High Praise From Kirkus Reviews

    Image description
    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







     

    ​
    Picture
  • Published on

    Historical Corrective About Sylvia Moy, Motown's Pioneering Female Songwriter and Producer, Sheds Light on Trailblazer in Forthcoming Biography, 'It's No Wonder'

    Picture
    It's here! Dr. Margena A. Christian's much-anticipated biography about Sylvia Moy, the unassuming musical giant who penned classic Motown tunes for Stevie Wonder such as "Uptight" and "My Cheri Amour" as the label's first certified female in-house songwriter and producer, will be released on February 10, 2026. 

    Imagine a world without the music of Stevie Wonder. A world without hits like “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day.” That’s the world we would live in had it not been for Sylvia Moy, a woman whose legacy has been carefully tucked away within the annals of music history—until now.
     
    It’s No Wonder examines the groundbreaking career of the pioneer who battled sexism and broke down barriers to become Motown’s first certified female in-house songwriter and producer. As the lone woman in a room full of men, the odds were stacked against Moy from the start. Amidst racial strife at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, most African American women who were allowed into the music industry could only dream of a career as a singer. Nevertheless, the Detroit native found unprecedented success as both a songwriter and producer. In addition to single-handedly saving Stevie Wonder’s early career at Motown, Moy solidified herself as one of the label’s most prolific composers, penning many of Wonder’s classic hits as well as songs for other Motown acts like “Honey Chile,” “It Takes Two,” “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You),” “My Baby Loves Me,” “(We’ve Got) Honey Love,” “Forget Me Not,” “With a Child’s Heart,” and countless others.

    Meticulously researched and fiercely feminist, It’s No Wonder is a historical corrective that restores Sylvia Moy to her rightful place at the forefront of music history.

    Publisher: Da Capo
    Page Count: 304

    Media contact: Tara Kennedy, Publicity Director of Grand Central Publishing and Da Capo, Tara.Kennedy@hbgusa.com
  • Published on

    Dr. Christian Recognized With Journalism Honor By Sorority

    Picture
    Dr. Christian was among nine honorees presented with the 2023 Rhomania Torch Award during the Rhomania, Sigma Explosion Festival & Torch Awards. The event, which took place at Visions Entertainment in Chicago, IL, on Saturday, June 3, was sponsored by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.'s Delta Sigma Alumnae Chapter.

    She is proud legacy in the sorority and has been a member since December 16, 2001. Dr. Christian is related to late St. Louis educator, Dr. Pearl Schwartz White, a charter and founding member of St. Louis' Zeta Sigma graduate chapter, who also authored the sorority's first official history book, Behind These Doors: A Legacy--The History of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (1974).