AALBC Search
Jason Mott
Jason Mott 0000000077544509 Jason Mott, an author from North Carolina, holds a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry. His works have been featured in literary journals and he was a 2009 Pushcart Prize ...
Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rachel Eliza Griffiths 0000000527846142 Rachel Eliza Griffiths, a poet, photographer, and creative writing teacher, is renowned for her literary portraits, fine art photography, and lyric videos. She...
Tyehimba Jess
Tyehimba Jess 0000000044353175 Congrats to Tyehimba Jess: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Tyehimba Jess, a Detroit native, is an award-winning poet and professor. His first book, Leadbelly, won ...
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon
Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon 0000000033953968 Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon is a renowned American poet and scholar, celebrated for her exploration of race, identity, and human complexities in her work. Honor...
Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef Komunyakaa 000000011440862X Yusef Komunyakaa the first African American male to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry Yusef Komunyakaa, born on April 29, 1947, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet recog...
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...
Layal Liverpool
Layal Liverpool NONE Layal Liverpool, a science journalist with a PhD from Oxford, specializes in biomedical science, virology, and immunology. Known for her contributions to Nature, New Scientist, W...
April Gibson
April Gibson NONE April Gibson is a poet, writer, and professor from the South Side of Chicago. She is a winner of The Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and a Loft L...
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...
Joseph S. Spence
Joseph S. Spence NONE Dr. Joseph S. Spence Sr. is a globally recognized author, poet, educator, and military veteran. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed articles, ten poetry books, and co-founded...
Taylor Byas
Taylor Byas NONE Dr. Taylor Byas, Ph.D. is a Black poet and essayist. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Alabama for six years, where she received both her Bachelor’s degree in English and her Ma...
Anne Spencer
Anne Spencer 0000000458445176 Anne Bannister Spencer was a lauded American poet, civil rights activist, and librarian during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1882, she was the first African-American w...
Nina Oteria
Nina Oteria NONE Nina Oteria is a New York-based poet, known for her work on sight, perception, and nature. An alumna of Wake Forest University and NC State University's writing workshops, she's now ...
Keisha-Gaye Anderson
Keisha-Gaye Anderson NONE Keisha-Gaye Anderson is a Jamaican-born poet, creative writer, visual artist, and media professional, whose multi-platform storytelling has examined subjects like art, cult...
Olatunde Osinaike
Olatunde Osinaike NONE Olatunde Osinaike is a Nigerian American poet and software developer from Chicago. He won the 2019 Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize and is the author of Tender Headed, a 2022 Natio...
Victoria Adukwei Bulley
Victoria Adukwei Bulley 0000000474165676 Victoria Adukwei Bulley is a celebrated poet, writer, and artist, recognized for her exceptional poetry with an Eric Gregory Award. She's an alumna of the Bar...
Yonder
Yonder 000000009362885X "Yonder, author of the erotic and humorous 'What I do is Taboo' series, provides readers with a unique blend of fantasy and reality. Inspired by favorite authors, Yonder embar...
Sharon G. Flake
Sharon G. Flake 0000000116203265 Sharon Flake is a University of Pittsburgh graduate with a degree in English. She has rich experience working with youth in shelters and foster care, and spent 18 yea...
Tumika Patrice Cain
Tumika Patrice Cain NONE Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author and media personality, known for her work in women's contemporary fiction and poetry. She's a champion for indie authors, a res...
Danez Smith
Danez Smith 0000000529080232 Danez Smith is an award-winning poet from St. Paul, Minnesota. Known for his works such as [insert] boy, his poetry explores themes of race, class, sexuality, faith, and ...
Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte 0000000083980729 “My skin causes certain problems continuously, problems that open the issue of racism over and over like a wound.” Toi Derricotte is an award-winning poet a...
Aileen Muhammad
Aileen Muhammad NONE Aileen Muhammad, born in 1950, is a notable poet and author from Philadelphia. Her poetry appeared in Journal of Black Poetry and Muhammad Speaks in the 1960s. She graduated from...
Reginald Harris
Reginald Harris 0000000022558452 Reginald Harris, a noted poet and IT Director at Poets House, NYC, is a winner of the 2012 Cave Canem/Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize. He's received multip...
Chance Arradondo
Chance Arradondo NONE Chance Arradondo is a versatile writer, born in 1989 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He writes novels, poetry, short stories, and lyrics, inspired by his life experiences and love fo...
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence MULTIPLE The Spence family, consisting of Joseph, Sheila, and Jonathan, use poetry and various other forms of artistic...
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley 0000000046027939 Wesley Receives the 2023 Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Award Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, a Penn State Altoona professor of English, creative writing and Afri...
Idrissa Uqdah
Idrissa Uqdah NONE Idrissa Uqdah, a New Jersey-based writer, has a diverse background in black media, government communications, and literature. Known for her early fiction and poetry, she now writes...
Rachel Renée Russell
Rachel Renée Russell 0000000116442848 “Black writers should not be typecast into having only black characters.”—Shonda Rhimes Rachel Renee Russell, attorney and bestselling author of...
muMs the schemer
muMs the schemer NONE Craig Grant, known as muMs the Schemer, is a poet and actor from the Bronx, New York. He rose to fame in the documentary SlamNation and through his role as “Poet” in HBO's Oz. H...
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez NONE Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is a publishing professional and poetry enthusiast with a diverse background, including service in the US Army and political campaigns. A firm belie...
Indigo Moor
Indigo Moor NONE Indigo Moor, Sacramento's Poet Laureate, is a multi-talented writer with works ranging from poetry to plays. His award-winning books include Tap-Root and Through the Stonecutter’s Wi...
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...
Carl Patterson
Carl Patterson NONE Carl Patterson started writing at 45, inspired by his late wife's positive outlook on life. Initially a poet, he transitioned into novel-writing upon her suggestion. His works, in...
Safiya Sinclair
Safiya Sinclair 0000000500999106 Safiya Sinclair is a Jamaica-born author known for her award-winning poetry book, Cannibal. She holds numerous accolades including the Whiting Writers’ Award, Pushcar...
Loretta Collins Klobah
Loretta Collins Klobah NONE Loretta Collins Klobah is a Caribbean Literature and creative writing professor at the University of Puerto Rico. She's lived in various Caribbean-related locations and ho...
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...
Danielle Legros Georges
Danielle Legros Georges NONE Danielle Legros Georges, a professor at Lesley University, is a renowned writer and poet with interests in arts, education, American and African-American poetry, Caribbea...
John Murillo
John Murillo NONE John Murillo is a renowned poet and professor known for his works “Up Jump the Boogie” and “Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry.” He's won numerous awards including two Larry Neal Writers ...
Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair
Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair MULTIPLE Richard Ellmann, an influential literary critic and biographer, and Robert O’Clair, a scholar specializing in modern poetry, were key contributors to the s...
Danusha Laméris
Danusha Laméris NONE Danusha Lameris, a poet and essayist, was raised in Northern California, born to a Dutch father and Barbadian mother. Danusha Laméris, a poet and essayist, was raised in Nor...
Barbara Fant
Barbara Fant 0000000114483152 Barbara Fant is an acclaimed poet who has been writing and performing for over fifteen years. She has competed in nine National Poetry Slam competitions and placed 8th ...
Vernon Kitabu Turner
Vernon Kitabu Turner NONE Vernon “Kitabu” Turner, an African-American spiritual guru, Zen master, and martial artist, was raised Christian but became a Zen initiate after meeting master Nomura Roshi ...
Deborah Lefalle
Deborah Lefalle NONE Deborah LeFalle, Ph.D., is a retired educator and published poet based in Northern California. She enjoys writing, particularly poetry and children's stories, often inspired by p...
Shakir Rashaan
Shakir Rashaan NONE Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste his talent, but must develop it.” —Pope Jo...
Vanessa Miller
Vanessa Miller NONE Best-selling author and motivational speaker Vanessa Miller, known for her stage productions and Rain Series novels, writes redemption stories to glorify God. She's won Best Chris...
Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie
Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie NONE Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie is an author, teacher, and herbalist based in Queens, NY. Her work explores themes of silence, sexism, and racism, and has been published worl...
Douglas Kearney
Douglas Kearney 0000000038213846 Douglas Kearney, a renowned poet and professor, is known for his works addressing race and history. His first book, “Fear, Some,” was published in 2006, followed by o...
Terrance Hayes
Terrance Hayes 0000000052553847 Terrance Hayes is a renowned poet, author of four collections and winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry. A MacArthur fellow, Hayes has received numerous ac...
Stacey Lyn Evans
Stacey Lyn Evans NONE Stacey Lyn Evans, a renowned author and poet, has written for stage and TV, and performed her poetry nationwide. Her book REAL SOUL FOOD has made its way into major bookstores a...
Warsan Shire
Warsan Shire 0000000401939810 Warsan Shire, a Somali British writer and poet, is renowned for her chapbooks, and for winning the inaugural Brunel International African Poetry Prize. She was London's ...
Nikky Finney
Nikky Finney 0000000358800804 Nikky Finney, a South Carolina-born poet, is renowned for her first-person literary accounts of significant American historical events. She debuted with “On Wings Made o...
Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith 0000000110775334 Patricia Smith, celebrated poet and professor, is known for her direct and adventuresome style. She’s authored six books, including award finalists 'Blood Dazzler' and...
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor 0000000038283932 Trinidad-born, Queens-bred Cheryl Boyce Taylor is a celebrated poet and visual artist. She's authored several poetry collections, received the Partners in Writing...
Geffrey Davis
Geffrey Davis NONE Geffrey Davis, an award-winning author and poet, is renowned for his book 'Revising the Storm'. He's a recipient of numerous accolades including the Anne Halley Poetry Prize. His w...
Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine 0000000108694914 Claudia Rankine is a celebrated author and Yale professor, known for her poetry collections, plays, and video collaborations. She won multiple awards for her groundbr...
Major Jackson
Major Jackson 000000011499709X Major Jackson, an award-winning American poet and professor, is known for his poetry collections and contributions to the Harvard Review. He's a recipient of the Whitin...
Chaun Webster
Chaun Webster NONE Chaun Webster, a poet, publisher, and graphic designer, is influenced by the Black Arts Movement, Jazz, and Graffiti. He founded Free Poet’s Press in 2009 to encourage art producti...
Kamau Brathwaite
Kamau Brathwaite 0000000109373020 Edward Kamau Brathwaite, born in Barbados (1930-2020), was a key voice in Caribbean literature, a professor at NYU, and co-founder of the Caribbean Artists Movement....
K. Caprice Arradondo
K. Caprice Arradondo NONE K. Caprice Arradondo, born in 1988, is a Minnesota-based poet, short story writer, lyricist, father, and licensed tattoo artist. His works, including the co-authored “Writer...
Gerren Liles
Gerren Liles NONE Gerren Liles, a Morgan State University graduate and poet, uses his work to promote literacy and self-empowerment among black youth. A finalist for MTV's Real World: Hawaii, his poe...
Shara McCallum
Shara McCallum 0000000078832377 Shara McCallum, a Jamaican author known for her poetry, has published four books and received prestigious recognitions including a Witter Bynner Fellowship. Her works ...
Karl Nova
Karl Nova 0000000048878796 Karl Nova, a London and Lagos raised musician and author, uses rap and spoken word poetry to voice his unique experiences of nonconformity and personal growth. Known for hi...
Ian Williams
Ian Williams NONE Ian Williams is a renowned Canadian poet, short story writer, and novelist. Recognized by CBC as a writer to watch, he has been shortlisted for prestigious poetry awards and is a Da...
Artress Bethany White
Artress Bethany White NONE Artress Bethany White, PhD, is an award-winning poet, essayist, and literary critic known for her poetry collections and scholarly essays. Her notable works include 'My Afm...
t’ai freedom ford
t’ai freedom ford NONE t’ai freedom ford is a NYC high school English teacher, Cave Canem Fellow, and award-winning poet. She has been published in numerous reviews and anthologies, and is an editor ...
John Keene
John Keene 0000000032165978 Winner 2022 National Book Award for Poetry John Keene, acclaimed author known for Annotations, has been published in various anthologies and journals, earning several award...
Phetote Mshairi
Phetote Mshairi NONE Phetote Mshairi is a multi-talented artist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He's a poet, author, entrepreneur, performing artist, mentor, and more. With a B.B.A. in Business Management, Msh...
June Jordan
June Jordan 0000000114793687 June Millicent Jordan (1936-2002) was a renowned poet, activist, teacher, and essayist, known for her influential voice in liberation. A professor at UC Berkeley, she dir...
Kevin Young
Kevin Young 0000000109530225 Kevin Young, born in 1970, is a renowned poet and teacher influenced by Hughes, Berryman, Dickinson, and Basquiat. A Harvard graduate, Young authored multiple poetry book...
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee Nezhukumatathil 000000005262000X Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a NY Times best-selling author known for her non-fiction work, 'WORLD OF WONDERS', and four poetry books. She's a poetry editor at SIER...
Jumoke Verissimo
Jumoke Verissimo NONE Jumoke Verissimo is a multi-genre author with two acclaimed poetry collections and a debut novel, A Small Silence. Her works, translated into multiple languages, have won and be...
Kweku Abimbola
Kweku Abimbola NONE Kweku Abimbola, a poet of West African descent, is known for his acclaimed poetry collection “Saltwater Demands a Psalm.” His work explores themes like colonization and climate ch...
Sharrif Simmons
Sharrif Simmons NONE Sharrif Simmons, a poet, musician, writer, and arts educator, has a performance career extending over three decades. Inspired by veteran poet Sonia Sanchez and influenced by vari...
Shonda Buchanan
Shonda Buchanan 0000000500800611 Shonda Buchanan is an award-winning author and professor with over 15 years of teaching experience in various literary fields. She's an Education Specialist for the U...
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai 0000000121279889 “You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, that values itself, that understands itself.” Dr. Wangari Maathai was a renowned Kenyan environmental, politi...
Allen Ballard
Allen Ballard NONE Allen B. Ballard, renowned History and Africana Studies professor at SUNY-Albany, is a Harvard Ph.D. graduate and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at CCNY. An esteemed autho...
Barbara Chase-Riboud
Barbara Chase-Riboud 0000000110251688 Barbara Chase-Riboud is an award-winning poet and author known for her historical novels like 'Sally Hemings'. She was knighted by the French government in 1996 ...
Gary A. Johnson
Gary A. Johnson NONE Gary A. Johnson, founder of a management training and consulting company, is renowned for running popular web platforms like Black Men In America.com. With significant experience...
Maurice W. Dorsey
Maurice W. Dorsey NONE Maurice W. Dorsey, a trailblazing African American scholar, earned degrees from the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Loyola College. His career spanned secondary and ...
David Covin
David Covin 0000000084071877 David Covin was a Professor Emeritus of Government and Ethnic Studies at CSU Sacramento and Past President of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. He wa...
Elijah Anderson
Elijah Anderson 0000000115676650 Dr. Elijah Anderson is a distinguished Sociology professor at Yale University and an eminent urban ethnographer. He has held key positions in various professional ass...
Paul C. Thornton
Paul C. Thornton NONE Paul C. Thornton, a Brooklyn native, served in the US Army as a mental health specialist. His diverse career includes roles as a financial executive, retail entrepreneur, city g...
Wilmer J. Leon
Wilmer J. Leon NONE Wilmer J. Leon III, Ph.D., is a political scientist specializing in Black Politics, American Government, and Public Policy. He is a nationally syndicated columnist, SiriusXM radio...
Michelle D. Rayford
Michelle D. Rayford NONE Author Michelle D. Rayford, winner of a fifth-grade literacy contest, nurtured her passion for writing through years of education, a government job, marriage, and motherhood....
Joy M. Copeland
Joy M. Copeland NONE Joy M. Copeland, a Harlem-born author with a diverse career in government and business, now focuses on her writing. Notably, she has written two novels and several horror and cri...
Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara 0000000109098487 “There is no true social revolution without the liberation of women.” Thomas Sankara, born in 1949, was a central figure in Burkina Faso's democratic revolu...
Nea
Nea 0000000121527379 Indiana-born Nea, the publisher of Truly Outspoken Publications, combines her 20+ years experience in the tax industry with her passion for writing. Known for her urban romance f...
Danielle Spencer
Danielle Spencer NONE Danielle Spencer is an author, privacy rights advocate, and US Federal Government whistleblower with over 20 years of leadership experience in business and finance. She holds mu...
Philip Zelikow
Philip Zelikow 0000000110790868 Philip Zelikow is a professor at the University of Virginia, focusing on American and world history. A former civil rights attorney and diplomat, he served in various ...
Marvin V. Arnett
Marvin V. Arnett NONE Marvin V. Arnett, a retired Federal Manager from Detroit, had a successful career receiving numerous awards for job performances and cost-cutting suggestions. She served as Nati...
Anthony W. Scott
Anthony W. Scott NONE Anthony W. Scott, Esq. has decades of leadership and management experience derived from his expansive career within private industry, public interest, government, and as an entr...
Manning Johnson
Manning Johnson NONE Manning Rudolph Johnson (December 17, 1908 – July 2, 1959) was an African-American leader in the Communist Party USA who later became an anti-communist government witness ...
Randal Pinkett
Randal Pinkett NONE Dr. Randal Pinkett is an entrepreneur, author, and scholar. He is the CEO of BCT Partners, a consulting firm working in various sectors. Pinkett co-founded Inner City Consulting G...
Randall Robinson
Randall Robinson 0000000108663122 Randall Robinson (1941-2023) was a best-selling author and founder of TransAfrica. Known for his books such as 'An Unbroken Agony' and 'The Debt', he was a public ad...
Brenda M. Hampton
Brenda M. Hampton NONE Brenda M. Hampton, a native St. Louisan, is a passionate writer known for her addictive series, The Naughty Series. With over 20 novels, novellas, and anthologies to her credit...
Issa Rae
Issa Rae 0000000493620849 Issa Rae, born in 1985, is a talented humorist and YouTube sensation with more than 25 million views. Recognized on Forbes' “30 Under 30” list twice, she has created success...
K. L. Brady
K. L. Brady NONE K. L. Brady, a D.C. native and successful author, began writing at a young age and published her first novel, The Bum Magnet, after an inspirational Oprah moment. Her writing include...
Kevin M. Weeks
Kevin M. Weeks NONE Kevin M. Weeks is an acclaimed self-published Urban Fiction author known for his debut, The Street Life Series. Honored as the Best New Urban Author of 2007, his fresh approach te...
Sylvester Boyd Jr.
Sylvester Boyd Jr. NONE Sylvester Boyd Jr., a Chicago native, is an accomplished author, background actor, and motivational speaker with a rich background in geography, history, and business. Known f...
Darius Myers
Darius Myers NONE Darius Myers, a NYC-based fiction writer and former senior executive in media, is known for his thrilling Black Camelot series, praised for its intriguing plot and compelling charac...