A young athlete from Panama moved in with Javier Wallace's family — and the relationship became a book. "Basketball Trafficking: Stolen Black Panamanian Dreams," Wallace's account of the F-1 student visa pipeline into U.S. basketball, is the inaugural grant recipient of the Tara Coyt Publishing Fund, a new Atlanta effort to get more Black scholars into print. Wallace discusses the book September 17 at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, in conversation with former NBA All-Star Joe Barry Carroll. 

Supporting Black scholars 

Coyt launched the fund in 2025 with an open call to publishers for manuscripts they'd already accepted but couldn't yet afford to produce. "In the first year, we received about 10 applications," she said. 

At its center is the publishing subvention grant — up to $10,000 per book to help cover printing costs. The fund also supports a manuscript review workshop, a final-stage peer-review process for selected manuscripts, run in partnership with a university or professional organization. Recipients are also eligible for an author talk after publication. Which is how Wallace ended up on stage with Carroll.