Walker
A native of Danville, Kentucky, Frank X Walker is the first African American writer to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate. Walker has published eleven collections of poetry, including Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers, which was awarded the 2014 NAACP Image Award for Poetry and the Black Caucus American Library Association Honor Award for […]
Taylor
Goldie TaylorVeteran journalist and human rights activist Goldie Taylor is perhaps best known for her work as a cable news political analyst. A contributing editor at The Daily Beast, Goldie has been a featured political analyst on NBC News, MSNBC, CNN and HLN and has been a guest on programs such as HBO’s Real Time […]
Finney
Carolyn Finney, PhD is a storyteller, author and a cultural geographer who is deeply interested in issues related to identity, difference, creativity, and resilience.The aim of her work is to develop greater cultural competency within environmental organizations and institutions, challenge media outlets on their representation of difference, and increase awareness of how privilege shapes who […]
Smith
Sherri L. Sherri L. Smith is the author of award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner, The Blossom and the Firefly, and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, […]
Qualls
Sean Qualls finds inspiration everywhere. Growing up in the 70’s in central New Jersey, his family didn’t have much money for art supplies but he made the best of what was available; discarded paper, blank end pages from old books and sometimes walls much to his mother’s chagrin. Some of his earliest inspirations were the […]
Obuobi
Laura Obuobi was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, but has been living in the United States since 2003. She has loved books ever since her daddy taught her to read. Libraries, bookstores, in fact any ‘bookish space’ is Laura’s happy place. She is fascinated by pre-colonial West African history and how it connects with […]
Mangal
Working at the intersection of nature, literature, and culture, Mélina Mangal’s work has been published by Milkweed Editions, Coffee House Press, W.W. Norton, and Carolina Wren Press. She is the author of five biographies for youth, including The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award. Jayden’s Secret […]
Christopher Murray
Victoria Christopher Murray is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than 30 novels, including the New York Times Instant Best Sellers, The Personal Librarian and The First Ladies. Both novels, Victoria co-wrote with Marie Benedict. A native New Yorker, Victoria Christopher Murray attended Hampton University where she majored in […]
Burke
Marcus Burke grew up in Milton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Susquehanna University where he played four years of Varsity basketball. Burke went on to receive his MFA at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop where he was awarded a Maytag Fellowship, an Iowa Arts Fellowship, and upon graduation, a competitive grant in honor of James Alan McPherson […]
Hill Brown
India Hill Brown is an author with a passion for writing, reading, and all things literary. Her debut novel, The Forgotten Girl, has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Youth/Teens. It’s both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery. […]