AALBC Search
Zuksiwa Wanner
Zuksiwa Wanner NONE Zukiswa Wanner, born to South African and Zimbabwean parents in Zambia, is a celebrated author known for award-nominated novels like “Men of the South.” As an essayist, she focuse...
Toni Blackman
Toni Blackman 0000000036920264 Toni Blackman, an international champion of hip-hop culture, is known for her captivating performances and powerful presence. She's the first hip-hop artist to work as ...
Donna M. Gray-Banks
Donna M. Gray-Banks NONE Donna M. Gray-Banks, founder of F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival, is a successful author known for her suspense erotic trilogy and a guest columnist for various outlets. She hosts tw...
Jael Richardson
Jael Richardson NONE Jael Ealey Richardson is a Toronto-based author and educator with an MFA in Creative Writing. Known for her memoir and children's book, both titled The Stone Thrower, her work re...
Patricia Spears Jones
Patricia Spears Jones 0000000031494569 Patricia Spears Jones, born in Arkansas, is the 2024 New York State Poet Laureate, a Jackson Poetry Prize laureate, and a cultural activist. An esteemed poet, p...
LaKesa Cox
LaKesa Cox NONE LaKesa Cox is an award-winning author and screenwriter with over 20 years of experience. She has published four novels and has contributed to two anthologies. She was acknowledged as ...
Thando Mgqolozana
Thando Mgqolozana 0000000071220474 Thando Mgqolozana, born in 1983, is a renowned South African novelist and Mandela Rhodes Scholar. He authored novels like 'Hear Me Alone' and 'Unimportance' and co-...
Rose Brock
Rose Brock 0000000107888362 Rose Brock, a professor at Sam Houston State University, is renowned for inspiring youth to love books. In addition to her career as a librarian and educator, she co-found...
Lola Shoneyin
Lola Shoneyin 0000000041835603 Lola Shoneyin is a renowned Nigerian poet and author, best known for her debut novel, “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives.” Identified as a promising African writer ...
Kadija Sesay
Kadija Sesay NONE Kadija George is a renowned literary activist, poet, and publisher of Sierra Leonean descent. She's known for her debut poetry collection, Irki, and has edited numerous anthologies....
Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay 000000035624500X Ava DuVernay is an award-winning writer, producer, and director in independent film. She founded DVA Media + Marketing and the African-American Film Festival Releasing M...
Darlene Williams
Darlene Williams NONE Darlene Williams is an award-winning businesswoman, adjunct lecturer, bestselling author, and nationally recognized youth and literacy advocate. She serves as President of the ...
Colette Bancroft
Colette Bancroft NONE Colette Bancroft is the book editor for the Tampa Bay Times since 2007, directs the annual Festival of Reading, and served on the National Book Critics Circle board. She holds E...
Panashe Chigumadzi
Panashe Chigumadzi 0000000454298041 Panashe Chigumadzi is an acclaimed Zimbabwean novelist and essayist, known for her award-winning debut novel, Sweet Medicine. A prominent voice in African literatu...
Solomon Plaatje
Solomon Plaatje 000000010911853X Solomon 'Sol' Plaatje (1876-1932) was a pioneering South African intellectual, journalist, and writer, known for being the first General Secretary of the South Africa...
Patricia A. Saunders
Patricia A. Saunders NONE Patricia A. Saunders, an author from Connecticut, now based in San Francisco, began her writing journey after her mother's passing. She released her first book in 2012 and i...
Anika Malone
Anika Malone NONE Anika Malone, author of the acclaimed “10 Minutes Past Too Late”, is celebrated as a fresh voice in contemporary fiction. She has participated in notable book events across the Unit...
Kellie Magnus
Kellie Magnus 0000000114740104 Kellie Magnus is a Jamaican children's author and media writer. An alumna of Harvard and Columbia Universities, she's the Chair of the Kingston Book Festival and serves...
Melica Niccole
Melica Niccole NONE Melica Niccole, a Columbus-native author, poet, and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, has a passion for writing which she uses to explore various subjects. She created an annua...
justin a. reynolds
justin a. reynolds NONE Justin A. Reynolds is an acclaimed author renowned for his debut YA novel, “Opposite of Always,” and second novel “Early Departures.” His work includes a Marvel graphic novel ...
David Washington
David Washington NONE Dr. David Washington decision to write a graphic novel stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the lack of diversity in the superhero genre. He hoped to provide his children with ...
Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips 0000000073657506 Esther Phillips, founder of The Bim Literary Festival & Book Fair and editor of Bim magazine, is a highly decorated poet with an MFA in Creative Writing. She's won pr...
Aliona L. Gibson
Aliona L. Gibson NONE Aliona L. Gibson is an author and filmmaker with a passion for creativity and service. She published her first book, Nappy, and later the self-published For Black Writers. Inspi...
Vashti Harrison
Vashti Harrison 0000000476987403 Vashti Harrison, born in 1988, is a Virginia-based author, illustrator, and filmmaker with a passion for storytelling. She has degrees in Media Studies, Studio Art, F...
Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey 000000012031905X Broderick Steven Harvey, born in 1956, is a renowned comedian who started his career in the mid-1980s. He gained fame in 1994 as the host of “It's Showtime at the Apollo...
Kathleen Cormack
Kathleen Cormack NONE Kathleen Cormack, a Chicago-born author, discovered her love for writing in fifth grade and has since developed a successful writing career. With a M.Ed in Higher Education and ...
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton
St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton MULTIPLE John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (1911-1990) was a pioneering African-American sociologist and anthropologist, known for documenting 1960s social turmoil, esta...
Donna L. Brazile
Donna L. Brazile NONE Donna Brazile is a seasoned Democratic political strategist, leading the Gore-Lieberman 2000 campaign as the first African American woman. She is Chair of the Democratic Nationa...
Norwood Holland
Norwood Holland NONE Norwood Holland, a freelance writer and attorney, is the author of the Drew Smith legal thriller series. A graduate of Howard University School of Law and Fisk University, Hollan...
Katherine Dempsey
Katherine Dempsey NONE Go On Girl! Book Club, Unpublished Writer Award 2021 Winner Atlanta-born author Katherine Dempsey aims to illuminate Southern Gothic themes and Black mysticism in her writing. A...
Alberto O. Cappas
Alberto O. Cappas NONE Alberto O. Cappas, a Puerto Rican-born poet, writer, and community activist, is known for his work in economic development, literature, and advocacy in New York and Buffalo. He...
Cheryl Clarke
Cheryl Clarke 0000000383377198 Cheryl L. Clarke, born in 1947, is a lesbian poet, essayist, and a Black feminist activist. Her work emphasizes African-American women's literature and black lesbian fe...
Matthew A. Cherry
Matthew A. Cherry 0000000500418922 Former NFL wide receiver, Matthew A. Cherry, transitioned into filmmaking after his retirement in 2007. He's known for directing over 20 music videos, his feature f...
Louis Edwards
Louis Edwards 0000000028382400 Louis Edwards, a Guggenheim Fellowship and Whiting Award-winning author, has written four novels including Ramadan Ramsey and Ten Seconds. Louisiana-born Edwards is als...
Biyi Bandele
Biyi Bandele 0000000120964833 Biyi Bandele-Thomas (1967-2022) was a renowned Nigerian novelist, playwright, director, and photographer. He was celebrated as one of Africa's top 50 artists. Bandele's ...
Regie Gibson
Regie Gibson NONE Regie Gibson is a poet, songwriter, author, workshop facilitator, and educator. Regie has performed, taught, and lectured at schools, universities, theaters and various other ve...
Justin Phillip Reed
Justin Phillip Reed 0000000497688533 Justin Phillip Reed is a South Carolina-born author, known for his work in various publications and his MFA in poetry from Washington University. Recognized for h...
Nancy Churnin
Nancy Churnin NONE Nancy Churnin is a celebrated children's book author, known for inspiring kids to be heroes through her stories. She's a Eureka Silver Award winner and has been recognized with the...
Shane W. Evans
Shane W. Evans 0000000038504360 Shane Evans is a renowned illustrator, artist and designer whose work has been recognized by The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and The Orbis Pictus Award. His illustrat...
V. Brooks Dunbar
V. Brooks Dunbar NONE Dr. V. Brooks Dunbar is a renowned author, speaker, and leadership consultant. Known as the Confidence Commander, she empowers individuals and organizations to unlock their pote...
Renee Prewitt Killingsworth
Renee Prewitt Killingsworth NONE Renee Prewitt Killingsworth, a Chicago native with over 15 years in public relations, began her career as a radio talk show host. She's active in southeast Michigan c...
Yemi Toure
Yemi Toure NONE Yemi Touré, born Ronald Leroy Finney in 1948, was a renowned book editor and freelance writer. Raised in South Carolina, he moved to Los Angeles in his teenage years. He is well-know...
Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah 0000000430715306 Trevor Noah, a successful African comedian and host of the award-winning 'The Daily Show', joined the show in 2014. He has multiple comedy specials, including his 9th, 'A...
Latorial Faison
Latorial Faison NONE Faison is the Judge for Nubianpoets.com 2018 Nation Poetry Month Poetry Contest Latorial Faison is an American poet and author, known for her profound poetry reflecting her Africa...
Zakes Mda
Zakes Mda 0000000109273150 Zakes Mda is a South African novelist, playwright, and painter, currently a professor at Ohio University. He has won major literary awards in South Africa and the USA, incl...
Mark Mathabane
Mark Mathabane 0000000108774033 "Mark Mathabane is a South African author and human rights activist, known for his memoir 'Kaffir Boy' which sheds light on his life under apartheid. His works, transl...
Kelvin Boston
Kelvin Boston NONE Kelvin E. Boston is a Financial journalist, author, and entrepreneur. Kelvin Boston believes that financial education is the key that unlocks the doors to financial success. Bo...
William Gardner Smith
William Gardner Smith 0000000063221434 Influential writer and journalist William Gardner Smith (1927–1974) used his work to highlight racial inequality in America. His novels, such as The Stone Fac...
Yewande Omotoso
Yewande Omotoso 0000000369299533 Yewande Omotoso, born in Barbados and raised in Nigeria, is an award-winning author and architect based in Johannesburg. She moved to South Africa in 1992 and has sin...
J.T. Smith
J.T. Smith 0000000117420835 J.T. Smith, a New Jersey-born author, developed a passion for reading and history at an early age. His interest in Black History and the Harlem Renaissance influenced his ...
Cathy Finch White
Cathy Finch White NONE Cathy Finch White, a former medical professional turned author, advocates for child education through reading. She has written four award-winning books, including “Anna Learn's...
Donna Drew Sawyer
Donna Drew Sawyer NONE Donna Drew Sawyer, author of Provenance, has a rich background in arts administration, advertising, and public relations. A New Yorker with over three decades of experience in ...
Breena Clarke and Amy Newmark
Breena Clarke and Amy Newmark MULTIPLE Amy Newmark is the author, editor, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Breena Clarke, a distinguished Black scholar and novelist, penned the ...
Ayana Mathis
Ayana Mathis 0000000367812022 Ayana Mathis, an Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate and Michener-Copernicus Fellowship recipient, is best known for her NYT best-selling novel 'The Twelve Tribes of Hattie'...
Terry Wells-Jones
Terry Wells-Jones NONE Terry Wells-Jones, a graduate from the University of Wisconsin, is a retired businesswoman and one of the first Black models of the 1960s. She broke barriers as the first woman...
Sharon M. Draper
Sharon M. Draper 0000000374578086 Sharon M. Draper, acclaimed author of the Sassy series and numerous teen novels, is a New York Times bestseller and multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner. A forme...
Olive Senior
Olive Senior 0000000110714769 Jamaican-born Olive Senior is an accomplished scholar, journalist, and editor. Educated at Carleton University and the Thomson Foundation, she's held roles at the Daily ...
Gwen Richardson
Gwen Richardson NONE Gwen Richardson, co-founder of Cushcity.com, the largest African-American internet retailer, is a successful entrepreneur and writer with a marketing degree from Georgetown Unive...
Tamiya Davis
Tamiya Davis NONE Tamiya Davis, a Virginia native, is a longshoreman, fashion entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker. Her achievements include running a rights restoration chapter, owning a f...
Jacquelin Thomas
Jacquelin Thomas NONE Award-winning author Jacquelin Thomas has published over 50 titles across romance, women’s fiction, inspirational, and young adult genres. She's received multiple awards includi...
Saharra K. Sandhu
Saharra K. Sandhu NONE Saharra K. Sandhu is a scientist-turned-romance writer, known for weaving South American and Caribbean folklore into her novels. Her debut, “Daughter Of The Missing”, is a Whea...
Patrice Lawrence
Patrice Lawrence 000000047779067X Patrice Lawrence is an award-winning writer. Her debut YA novel, Orangeboy (Hachette), won the Bookseller YA Prize and the Waterstones Prize for Older Children’s Fi...
Yani
Yani 0000000118166410 Yani, an Amazon Best Selling Author from Philadelphia, is renowned for her six novels and unique storytelling style. She's celebrated in genres like African American Fiction-Ur...
Davida Siwisa James
Davida Siwisa James NONE Davida Siwisa James, a globe-trotting author with roots in Philly and Harlem, has experience as a freelance journalist and has several published works, including an award-win...
Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes 0000000073665848 Ghana-born Kwame Dawes, a poet significantly influenced by Jamaican rhythms and reggae music, is the author of numerous poetry collections, novels, and non-fiction works....
Suheir Hammad
Suheir Hammad 0000000084052510 Suheir Hammad, born October 25, 1973, is a Palestinian-American poet, author, performer, and activist renowned for her work in the spoken-word scene. She's had success ...
Kevin Coval
Kevin Coval 0000000053723529 Kevin Coval, author of ALA “Book of the Year†finalist Slingshots: A Hip-Hop Poetica, is the Artistic Director of Louder Than a Bomb: The Chicago Teen Poetry Festival...
Martin R. Delany
Martin R. Delany 0000000080985970 Martin Delany (1812-1885) was a pioneering African American abolitionist and the first African American Field Officer in the U.S Army. Post-Reconstruction, he promot...
Charis Jackson Barrios
Charis Jackson Barrios NONE Charis Jackson Barrios, also known as Charis JB, is a Black and Paraguayan artist raised and based in the American South. Their art draws from all aspects of their multic...
Drusilla Dunjee Houston
Drusilla Dunjee Houston NONE Drusilla Dunjee Houston (January 20, 1876 – February 8, 1941) was born in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Her parents were Rev. John William Dunjee and Lyd...
Andrew Salkey
Andrew Salkey 0000000109378518 Felix Salkey was a Panamanian-born author dedicated to Jamaican culture. Raised in Jamaica, he became a prominent figure in the London community of West Indian writers ...
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi NONE Wanjikũ Wa Ngũgĩ, author of 'The Fall of Saints', is a former director of the Helsinki African Film Festival. Her short stories and essays are featured in various publications i...
Colin Channer
Colin Channer 0000000066632589 Colin Channer, born in Jamaica, is a celebrated author and editor known for his poetry collection 'Providential' and bestselling novel 'Waiting in Vain'. He's also the ...
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor 0000000049060048 Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a renowned Kenyan writer, recognized for her contribution to literature and arts in Kenya. She won the 2003 Caine Prize for her story “...
Peter Kalu
Peter Kalu NONE Peter Kalu is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, and playwright from the UK. He began his writing career at Manchester's Moss Side Write black writers workshop and has produced ei...
Hannibal B. Johnson
Hannibal B. Johnson NONE Harvard Law graduate Hannibal B. Johnson is an esteemed author, attorney, and consultant specializing in diversity and human relations. He's taught at prestigious universitie...
Glodean Champion
Glodean Champion NONE Glodean Champion is a multifaceted artist, educator, and coach based in Monterey, CA. She is a published author, whose work explores themes of sexuality, gender, and African Ame...
January Gill O’Neil
January Gill O’Neil NONE January Gill O’Neil, author of Rewilding, Misery Islands, and Underlife, is a former executive director of Massachusetts Poetry Festival and ex-Grisham Writer-in-Residence. C...
Stacy Spikes
Stacy Spikes NONE Stacy Spikes, co-founder of MoviePass and founder of Urbanworld Film Festival, is an award-winning entrepreneur and former film marketing executive. Recognized as one of the most in...
Willard Jenkins
Willard Jenkins 0000000114808113 Willard Jenkins, born in 1949, is an influential figure in jazz, serving as Artistic Director of the DC Jazz Festival, arts consultant, producer, educator, and journa...
Keela Buford
Keela Buford NONE Keela Buford, a content strategist and author of 'Pride, and Joy,' is recognized in film and screenplay festival circuits. Her work ranges from science fiction to contemporary, with...
Greg Garrett
Greg Garrett 0000000046223577 Greg Garrett is a recognized voice on religion and culture in America, with work featured across major media outlets. He is the co-founder of the Long Long Way Film Fest...
William Byrd
William Byrd 0000000109367704 Dr. William “Super” Byrd, a Newark native, is an acclaimed author and educator specializing in Sports Education. A holder of multiple degrees and professional licenses, ...
Sindiwe Magona
Sindiwe Magona 0000000122787607 Sindiwe Magona is a South African author who grew up in a Cape Town township, worked for the UN, and earned degrees from the University of South Africa and Columbia Un...
Imraan Coovadia
Imraan Coovadia 0000000121308096 Imraan Coovadia is a South African author and academic, known for his contributions to Indian-South African literature. His works, often comedic and thoughtful, explo...
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela 0000000121447715 Nelson Mandela, born July 18, 1918, was South Africa's first black President from 1994-1999, and ANC party President from 1991-1997. After 27 years in prison, he was r...
Kopano Matlwa
Kopano Matlwa 0000000081937583 Kopano Matlwa, a South African writer and physician, is known for her novels 'Spilt Milk' and 'Coconut', both of which explore post-Apartheid era themes. Her debut nove...
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu 0000000108644191 Desmond Mpilo Tutu, former Archbishop of Southern Africa, was a renowned advocate for justice and racial reconciliation. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and the Pr...
E. Franklin Frazier
E. Franklin Frazier 0000000110444690 Edward F. Frazier (1894-1962) was a renowned American sociologist and author. His influential work, “The Negro Family in the United States,” won the 1940 Anisfiel...
Dimitry Elias Leger
Dimitry Elias Leger NONE Dimitry Elias Léger, born in Haiti, is a former editor and writer for The Source, Fortune, and MTV News, with work in The New York Times and The Washington Post. A UN adviso...
Donald Goines
Donald Goines 0000000080237403 Donald Goines (December 15, 1936 – October 21, 1974) was a writer of urban fiction. Goines was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were a middle-class Afri...
Shawn Martinbrough
Shawn Martinbrough 0000000109567829 Shawn Martinbrough is an Eisner Award-nominated author and artist renowned for his comic book projects including Batman, Luke Cage Noir, Hellboy and more. He's a r...
Manu Herbstein
Manu Herbstein 0000000052849963 Manu Herbstein, born in 1936, is a South African and Ghanaian author and engineer who worked globally before settling in Ghana in 1970. His debut novel, “Ama, a Story ...
Caroline Randall Williams
Caroline Randall Williams 0000000371378337 Caroline Randall Williams, born in 1987, is a multi-genre writer and educator based in Nashville, Tennessee. She's well-recognized for her award-winning wor...
Harold Cruse
Harold Cruse 0000000385541959 Harold Wright Cruse (1916-2005) was a notable American academic and social critic. He taught African American studies at the University of Michigan. His most famous work...
Mervyn Morris
Mervyn Morris 0000000122796976 Born in 1937, Mervyn E. Morris is a renowned Jamaican poet and scholar. A Rhodes Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing & West Indian Literature, he was the...
Edward E. Baptist
Edward E. Baptist 0000000039584833 Edward E. Baptist, born 1970, is a Professor of History at Cornell University. His expertise lies in the history of 19th-century USA, particularly the South and the...
Unathi Slasha
Unathi Slasha 0000000500092539 Unathi Slasha is a South African writer and literary scholar from Despatch, Port Elizabeth, known for reimagining and subverting Nguni folklore. He describes his work ...
Joe Parkinson & Drew Hinshaw
Joe Parkinson & Drew Hinshaw MULTIPLE Joe Parkinson and Drew Hinshaw, Pulitzer Prize finalists and experienced Wall Street Journal correspondents, have covered Nigeria extensively. Parkinson, the Afr...
DéLana R. A. Dameron
DéLana R. A. Dameron NONE AALBC Mourns the Passing of DéLana R. A. Dameron DéLana R. A. Dameron is a renowned artist and storyteller, with an MFA in Poetry from NYU and a BA in History from UNC Chapel...