Tate

ReShonda Tate

  As the national bestselling author of more than 50 books, ReShonda Tate has the credentials, and the passion, to bring stories to life. That’s exactly what she does in her latest novel, The Queen of Sugar Hill (William Morrow, Jan. 30, 2024), a fascinating fictional portrait of Hattie McDaniel, one of Hollywood’s most prolific […]

Ford

Claudia Ford

Dr. Ford has enjoyed a career in academia, international management and development, and women’s health spanning three decades and all continents. Dr. Ford is a tenured professor and chair of the department of Environmental Studies at State University of New York, Potsdam. She teaches ethnobotany, indigenous knowledge, gender studies, international business, environmental justice, and environmental […]

Askaripour

Mateo Askaripour

New York Times bestselling author Mateo Askaripour wants people to feel seen. Mateo’s work aims to empower people of color to seize opportunities for advancement, no matter the obstacle. His first novel, Black Buck, takes on racism in corporate America with humor and wit. Askaripour was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “10 rising stars […]

Agostini

Alliah L. Agostini

Buffalo, NY native Alliah L. Agostini is an award-winning marketer who has marketed everything from iconic brands to scrappy start-ups, but motherhood helped her return to her first love: children’s literature. She writes and speaks to spread joy, truth, and to help more children see themselves reflected on the page. Alliah is a widely sought-after […]

Elmore

Phyllis Biffle Elmore

Phyllis Biffle Elmore was raised by her grandmother Lula Horn (1883-1988), in rural Alabama during the mid 1950’s and 1960’s. Her book Quilt of Souls: A Memoir, is dedicated to the memory of her grandmother; a quilter and storyteller who only made quilts from the clothing of people who had passed on. Her quilts were […]

Williams

Nyasha Williams

Nyasha Williams, a passionate social justice griot, has a unique background of living intermittently between the United States and South Africa. This diverse experience has deeply influenced Nyasha’s mission to decolonize literature, minds, and spiritual practices using words and stories. Nyasha firmly believes that the story lives within each of us and that our mission […]

Hammonds

Jas Hammonds

Jas Hammonds (they/she) was raised in many cities and between the pages of many books. They have received support for their writing from the Highlights Foundation, Baldwin for the Arts and Lambda Literary. They are also a grateful recipient of the MacDowell James Baldwin Fellowship. Their debut novel, We Deserve Monuments, won the 2023 Coretta […]

Francis

John Francis

John Francis, Ph.D., is known the world over as the Planetwalker. In 1971, Francis witnessed an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The effects of the oil pollution compelled him to stop using motorized vehicles. Several months later, to end the arguments he found himself getting into about the power of one person’s actions, he […]

Williams

Brittany N. Williams

Brittany N. Williams is the author of the YA historical fantasy THAT SELF-SAME METAL, Book #1 in the FORGE & FRACTURE SAGA. She is a classically-trained actress who studied Musical Theatre at Howard University and Shakespearean performance at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London. Previously she’s been a principal vocalist at […]

Slocumb

Brendan Slocumb

Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education, concentrations on Violin and Viola. For the past two decades, he has been a public and private school music educator from kindergarten through twelfth grade, teaching general music, […]