Photo Credit:  Troy Johnson, AALBC.com

Born the only child of a poet and a painter, K’wan Foye was surrounded by creativity. For years K'wan composed novels and tried to get published, only to have door after door slammed in his face.

Finally, in 2002, Triple Crown Publications picked him up, and K'wan shook the publishing world with his debut novel, Gangsta. With his witty dialect and page- turning plots, K'wan quickly earned the favor of readers and the number 3 spot on Essence magazine's bestseller list.

After penning his second novel, Road Dawgz, K'wan drew the attention of the literary powerhouse St. Martin's Press who quickly signed him.  He has successfully made the transition from a troubled youth, to one of the most powerful voices in contemporary fiction and has proven himself to be amongst the elite of the literary game. Through his work, K'wan has helped to empower thousands of young people not only to discover the wonderment of the written word, but to seek positive routes in reaching their goals.

K'wan resides in Harlem, New York, where he continues to create cutting edge and gripping stories

 

Harlem Based Authors K'wan & Treasure Blue, at AALBC.com's booth Book Expo 2007
 

 

From Harlem With Love
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Format: Amazon Kindle eBook
Print Length: 54 pages (estimate)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
Kindle Price: $2.99

Harlem had always lived by the code of the streets and respected the rules that governed them, but when his enemies break those rules and bring drama to his family, Harlem comes up with a plan to send them a very clear message... all is fair in love and war!

 

Animal
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Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Cash Money Content; Original edition (October 2, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936399253
ISBN-13: 978-1936399253
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches

One bullet changed everything.

Three years after narrowly escaping a one way trip to the gas chamber, the fugitive known only as Animal finds himself drawn back to the scene of the crime, Harlem, NY.

Throughout his entire time in exile the only thing that kept Animal going was the thought that he would one day be reunited with his soul mate, Gucci. But one bullet changed everything.

When his enemies tried to murder Gucci they crossed the line, so he vowed to cross them all. While Gucci teeters between life and death Animal sets out on a bloody mission fueled by love and orchestrated by bullets...there would be no more innocents.

Alliances are formed and secrets uncovered while Animal wages his personal war on the streets of Harlem only to discover one great truth....he is but a small piece in a much greater puzzle.

 

Eviction Notice: A Hood Rat Novel
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Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312536984
ISBN-13: 978-0312536985
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches

Winner "Best Books 2011: Street Lit" Library Journal

When three young friends, Porsha, Frankie and Sahara, decide to sublease an apartment from a mutual acquaintance, life becomes one big party for the girls. But the party comes to an abrupt end when they find out they've been fleeced for their money and an eviction notice is taped to their door. They have seventy-two hours to come up with the money or be tossed into the streets by the city marshals. Armed with various schemes, they set out to try and stop the eviction and find themselves caught in the crossfire of a bloody war between the Notorious Clark family and a new player in the game.

Meanwhile the police are still searching for the killer known only as The Animal, while his former lover Gucci tries to put the pieces of her life back together. When all is said and done, all parties involved will discover something about Animal and his abduction that no one was prepared for.

 

Welfare Wifeys
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Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (September 28, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312536976
ISBN-13: 978-0312536978

"K'wan excels at dialogue, and his densely packed universe has every element of successful street drama." --Publisher's Weekly on Welfare Wifeys

After the deaths and arrests of his entire crew and an informant-fueled investigation into his past, the man known on the streets as Animal relocates to Texas and finds fame and stardom as the newest act signed to the notorious Big Dawg Entertainment. His girlfriend, Gucci, is thrilled when she gets the news that he's coming back to New York on a promotional tour, but when she discovers the hidden agenda behind his homecoming nothing can prepare her for the life-altering consequences that will come of it.

 

Section 8: A Hood Rat Novel
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Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (September 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312536968
ISBN-13: 978-0312536961
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches

Since she was a little girl, Tionna's on and off addicted mother taught her to get hers by any means necessary. Tionna's heart is as cold as a December chill, but she holds a warm place in it for Duhan, the father of her two sons, and her on-again-off-again boyfriend since they were teenagers. Duhan becomes her knight in shining armor until the government turns their dream into a nightmare. With Duhan behind bars and everything she loves seized she finds herself starting over in the same neighborhood she swore she'd never come back to.

With two kids, a man in prison and no back up plan, Tionna is once again living by her wits in order to maintain the lifestyle she'd become so accustomed to. Back in the thick of things with her best friends Gucci, Boots and Tracy, she finds herself rediscovering her old life and suddenly begins to wonder if she's really cut out to be a prisoner's wife.

 

Gutter
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Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 0312360096
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: September 02, 2008
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

The explosive sequel to GANGSTA has finally arrived!

Blood answers for blood on the streets of Harlem. It's been months since Lou-loc was brutally murdered on his way to freedom and the pain is still fresh. Gutter, Lou-loc's best friend, finds himself on a path to self destruction, vowing to eradicate the entire Blood faction in New York City in the name of his fallen comrade. Sharell urges him to abandon the suicide mission, but his oath won't allow it. Not even for the child they are expecting. But as Gutter slips further into madness, a shocking revelation brings Satin out. In the middle of all this is a man named Major Blood. He has been flown in from Cali with two very simple instructions. Shut down Harlem Crip, and execute El Diablo's murderer. Walk back into the mouth of madness in the not-to-missed sequel to GANGSTA.

 

Still Hood
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Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 2, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031236010X

Check Out photos from the Still Hood Book Launch Party

Only the strong survive on the streets of Brooklyn. And while Dena Jones definitely has what it takes not only to survive but to succeed, she wants out. And she's determined to make it out of Crooklyn. She's determined to make it out of Crooklyn by any means necessary and doesn't have a problem manipulating men to get what she wants. Just ask her boyfriend Lance, or his girlfriend Michelle.

True has finally made it. His debut album has the streets going crazy and is threatening to spill over into the mainstream. After the murder of his group, his jump off and almost his dreams, True's life is finally starting to look up, until karma catches up with him. Somebody wants him dead and he doesn't know why, or does he?

Jah and Yoshi's was supposed to be a romance straight out of a story but there are no such things as fairy tails in the ghetto. Her position as a stylist keeps her in the mix and in the company of some industry heavyweights. Jah tries to be understanding but he can't help but to wonder just how much he can trust his girlfriend. He had promised to love her regardless of her past but in addition to wondering whether his girlfriend is creeping with her clients Jah has got a bigger problem. Someone is trying to kill True and its his job to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

Flexin & Sexin: Sexy Street Tales Volume 1
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by: Erick S. Gray, Anna J., K'Wan, Brittani Williams, Juicy Wright

Paperback: 211 pages
Publisher: Life Changing Book (July 19, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934230960

Flexin & Sexin is an urban and erotic anthology penned by some of street lit's and erotica's hottest writers. Join best selling authors K'wan, Anna J and Erick S. Gray as they take readers on a wild ride from the sheets to the streets.

 

Blow (G Unit Book)
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K'wan, 50 Cent

Release Date: 12 July, 2007
Media: Paperback
Manufacturer: G-Unit
 

Prince, Killa-E, Daddy-O, and Danny grew up together in the projects, moving crack and cocaine, and answering to Diego, the neighborhood drug lord. They were small-timers playing for low stakes - until Prince is introduced to a heroin connect. Overnight they go from soldiers to bosses, and their crew is held together by loyalty and love. But taking the reins of power comes at a high price. Now, with Diego at their back and a traitor in their midst, they find themselves between a kilo and a hard place, ready to spill blood to stay on top.

 

Hood Rat
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Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 31, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312360088

Hood Rat (n.): A woman of questionable repute, one who has been known to "get around" in the 'hood.

Yoshi is young, fine, and larcenous. She lives her life playing on men's hearts as well as their pockets. She learns the hard way that all that glitters isn't gold. Billy, a former high school basketball star, is at the end of her rope with the opposite sex. To her, all men are dogs, so she secretly seeks comfort in the arms of women, until she meets a man who makes her reevaluate her feelings. Reese is an around-the-way chick, trying to keep up with the Joneses. There's a revolving door on her bedroom as she tries to find the love she always felt was missing. Her promiscuity leaves her pregnant from a one-night stand and Reese is faced with the task of breaking an age-old cycle, passed down from mother to daughter in her family, and standing on her own. Rhonda is twenty-something with three kids, by three men, and riding the system all the way to the bank. To her, work is a dirty word; between the multiple checks she gets from the government, and the games she plays with men, she's living the life of a ghetto superstar. The game soon turns ugly when one of her "sponsors" snaps and decides to get some payback.

Harlem has never seen four friends as scandalous as these. The neighborhood will never be the same again.

"Street lit king K'wan returns with the story of four hood rats'i.e., women of uncertain repute'as they run a race to survive the ghetto."'Library Journal

 

Eve
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Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1 edition (March 21, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312333102

Except
The only family Eve Panelli has ever known is the infamous Twenty Gang. Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she's got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king.

Eve's life takes a serious turn when the powerful DeNardi family, the city's biggest drug supplier, tries to tighten its hold on Harlem. And when Eve's best friend, Cassidy, is murdered in the crossfire, Eve seeks revenge'starting all the way at the top.

Quote
"In this juicy, hard-hitting hip-hop romp, K'wan paints . . . [a] portrait of Eve Panelli, a banging little Harlem outlaw who's had to grow up fast since the murder of her parents'Joe-Joe, her Italian-Irish dad, a 'soldier' in an Italian mob family, and Shanice, her black mother. At 17, Eve feels like a $5 whore when she gets out of juvenile detention after taking the heat for two fellow Harlem gangstas, Felon, whom she's secretly sweet on, and Butter, his closest road dawg. Felon loves Eve, but he's also a hustler who'd 'rather be cold and rich than warm and broke' when he begins dealing with Carlo DeNardi, the degenerate son of the mobster who offed Eve's parents. Aside from her cool Uncle Bobby, a vet in a wheelchair, Eve's true 'fam' becomes the Twenty-Gang sistaz. The brutal murder of Cassidy, Eve's best home girl and crime partner, leads to Eve's heart-stopping opportunity for revenge and a thrilling conclusion."'Publishers Weekly

 

Hoodlum
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Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (July 14, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312333080

He set out to be the good son, but the streets had a different plan.

Born to one of the city's most notorious crime families, Shai Clark has always managed to be a good kid. A college hoops star, Shai shunned the world that his father had created and focused on his dreams of going pro. Tommy, Shai's trigger-happy older brother, is next in line for the throne and rules under his father through brute force. But Poppa has bigger plans for Shai.

The situation soon turns ugly when Poppa is murdered and Tommy is removed from the equation. Suddenly Shai finds himself at the head of his father's empire and the streets are thrown into chaos. It is then that he must decide whether to pursue his own dreams or put his father's affairs in order. Unable to sit idly by while the Clarks' underworld empire is pillaged, Shai takes up his father's mantle and brings his game to the streets. He quickly learns that there are two sides to every coin, and the streets hold no mercy for the weak.

Hoodlum chronicles three generations of Trinidadian immigrants and their rise to power in the New York City heroin trade.

 

Street Dreams
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Release Date: 26 August, 2004
Media: Paperback
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin

Excerpt
Love, Betrayal and Loyalty on the Streets of Harlem

Daruis, a.k.a. Rio, the only child of a singer turned alcoholic, feels he has nothing to hold on to except the idea of escaping the ghetto. Years ago, he took a gun charge for a friend and did some prison time. Unable to find a job when he gets out, Rio turns to hustling as a way out. In the meantime, Rio finds escape in the arms of his soulmate, Trinity.

Street Dreams (Original Cover)

When Trinity's mother died, her abusive father looks to her to play the role of house wife and bedmate. Trinity finds strength to endure in Rio's arms. Together they vow to do whatever it takes to make it out of the ghetto. But soon they find their backs against the wall when the streets come to claim their due.

'K'wan has really out done himself on this one. Street Dreams is a must read for any fan of urban fiction.'
-Shannon Holmes, national bestselling author of Bad Girlz and B-More Careful

"K'wan delivers another classic with Street Dreams. . .You won't be disappointed!"
-Mark Anthony, Essence bestselling author of Paper Chasers

 

Road Dawgz
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Release Date: July, 2003
Media: Paperback
Manufacturer: Triple Crown Publications

"It's the penthouse or the morgue." This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. 'K-Dawg,' self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass; his childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It is during his time behind bars, amongst hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root in his life and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child to a heartless, conniving menace, better known as 'K-Dawg.'

K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game or under the earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it'no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose'and everything to gain.

 

Gangsta
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Paperback: 198 pages
Publisher: Triple Crown Publications (October 10, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0970247214

Gangsta: An Urban Tragedy

For years, Lou-Loc, an efficient assassin and O.G. of the Crip organization, did dirt. After dancing on the razor's edge, he becomes weary of the street life that has consumed him during his years of service to his set. He begins to wonder if there's a better way to make a living?

Lou-Loc and his sociopath counterpart, Gutter, leave L.A. for the colorful streets of New York. Lou-Loc has dreams of becoming a writer. Gutter has dreams of becoming a King Pin.

Conflicting, intriguing and suspenseful ' this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat.

 

Related Links

K'wan is featured in the 2011 documentary film,

Behind Those Books, which is a thought Provoking Documentary Tackling Societal Ills Through Literature

The film was Written & Produced by: Kaven Brown & Edited & Directed by:
Mills Miller

Visit http://aalbc.it/behindthosebooks to learn more