By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB

It’s hard not to blow your own horn when a book in your imprint is recognized in a meaningful way. And that’s just what’s happening for TFCB’s Tupac Shakur biography by Carrie Golus in our USA TODAY Lifeline Biographies series.

The biography not only received a Booklist star in early October of this year, but it was also just named one of Booklist’s Top Ten Arts Books for Youth for 2010.

Any story of a troubled yet gifted life cut tragically short is riveting, and this one is no exception. Born in June 1971 to Afeni Shakur (at that time, a member of the Black Panthers), Tupac led a somewhat peripatetic life before being gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996.

In his short life, Tupac achieved enormous fame, appearing in seven films and releasing twelve albums (some of them posthumously). The TFCB biography explores the complexities of Tupac’s life and discusses Afeni Shakur’s efforts since her son’s death to support teens in the arts through her Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Georgia. Read the book for more details and for a better understanding of Tupac’s enduring legacy.

Check in next week for more from TFCB!