Alice Walker and Valerie Boyd

A prolific writer in multiple genres, Alice Walker has become a canonical figure in American letters. Her writings have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and more than fifteen million copies of her books have been sold.

Valerie Boyd is arts editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in Book, Ms., The Oxford American, The Washington Post, and African-American Review. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.