AALBC Search
Deanna Grey
Deanna Grey NONE Deanna Grey is a romance author known for writing New Adult stories centered on Black women, including sapphic romance and contemporary love stories. Her work often explores ambitio...
James Grey
James Grey NONE James Grey is an author and poet. Has been writing since the age of 13 or 14. After winning a contest for young writers he was motivated to continue writing poetry and short stories....
D. A. Grey
D. A. Grey NONE D.A. Grey, a former Navy member, holds degrees in Psychology from Delaware State and Princeton Universities. With a career in behavioral research and academia, he's now retired and li...
Michael I. Days
Michael I. Days NONE AALBC Mourns the passing of Michael I. Days, October 18, 2025 Michael I. Days is an esteemed editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, recognized for leading the team to numerous awa...
Dudley Thompson and Barrington Watson
Dudley Thompson and Barrington Watson MULTIPLE Barrington Watson is a renowned Jamaican artist and author of 'Shades of Grey', a collection of autobiographical stories complemented by his own illustr...
Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen 0000000114435847 Debbie Allen, born in 1950, is a bestselling children's book author, actress, dancer, and choreographer from Houston, Texas. She is renowned for her role in the 1982 ser...
The Last Poets
The Last Poets 0000000109403584 The Last Poets, formed in 1969, are influential street poets who gained fame with their debut LP in 1970, reaching the U.S. Top 10 album charts. Members include Abiodu...
Michael I. Days and Angela P. Dodson
Michael I. Days and Angela P. Dodson MULTIPLE Michael I. Days and Angela P. Dodson
jarrett hill and Tre’vell Anderson
jarrett hill and Tre’vell Anderson MULTIPLE jarrett hill (he/him) is an award-winning journalist, sought-after host, moderator, and writer. He is president of the National Association of Black Journ...
Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes
Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes MULTIPLE "Julia Quinn is a bestselling author known for her historical romance novels, with her work adapted by Shonda Rhimes, renowned TV producer and writer known for ...
Elsie Augustave
Elsie Augustave NONE Elsie Augustave, born in Haiti, is a Fulbright Scholar and accomplished educator, teaching French and Spanish at Stuyvesant High School. With degrees in foreign language and lite...
Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Margaret Wilkerson Sexton 0000000475938968 Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, a New Orleans native, is a Dartmouth and UC Berkeley School of Law graduate. She's a Lombard fellowship recipient and author whos...
Vanessa Riley
Vanessa Riley 0000000505908728 Vanessa Riley is an acclaimed author of Regency and historical romances, known for her multicultural narratives and powerful characters of color. With over twenty title...
Jon Key
Jon Key NONE Jonathan Key is an artist, designer, and writer originally from Seale, Alabama. After receiving his BFA from RISD, Jon began his design career at Grey Advertising in NYC before moving o...
Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy 0000000114437228 Jasmine Guy knew Afeni Shakur for nearly a decade, having met her via Afeni's son, Tupac. A multitalented performer, Guy began her career as a dancer for the Alvin Ailey...
Granger
Granger 0000000052290215 Granger (a pen name) is the author of the Secret World of Maggie Grey fantasy series. Known for her unorthodox approach to storytelling, she blends culture, mythology, and i...
Abiodun Oyewole
Abiodun Oyewole NONE Abiodun Oyewole is a pioneering poet, teacher, and founding member of the influential American music and spoken-word group, The Last Poets. With a rich contribution to Hip-Hop's ...
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...
Ruth P. Watson
Ruth P. Watson NONE Ruth P. Watson is a Virginia-born author and educator, now living in Atlanta. Known for bestsellers like Blackberry Days of Summer, she also writes children's books and is a docum...
Hugh Holton
Hugh Holton NONE Hubert “Hugh” Holton, son of a police officer, was a prolific author who passed away in 2001. Raised in Woodlawn, he attended Saint Anselm elementary school and Mount Carmel high sch...
Mikki Arlene Ealey
Mikki Arlene Ealey NONE Mikki Arlene Ealey is a mother, author, CEO, and senior court office assistant. She is dedicated to healing the world and helping others reach their potential through her writ...
Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany
Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany MULTIPLE Sarah Delany, the last of the Delany sisters, passed away at 109. Born to a former slave, she was the first colored woman to teach home economics in w...
Kitty Kelley
Kitty Kelley 0000000121422825 Catherine “Kitty” Kelley, born April 4, 1942, is a renowned writer known for her bestselling biographies on influential personalities. Her last five works topped the New...
Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan
Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan MULTIPLE The Last Poets are a group of musicians and poets, known for their African-American-themed performances that blend jazz, rhythm, and spoken words. Their i...
Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans 000000005928060X Damon Wayans, a NY Times bestselling author and award-winning actor from a renowned Hollywood family, is known for his roles in 'In Living Color' and 'My Wife and Kids'....
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...
Sheneska Jackson
Sheneska Jackson NONE Inspired by Terry McMillan, Sheneska Jackson dedicated early mornings to writing her first draft, which was accepted by Simon & Schuster two days after submission. Her work earn...
Elise Bryant
Elise Bryant NONE Elise Bryant, a Southern California native, is a former special education teacher turned romance author. Now based in Long Beach, she spends her days crafting swoony love stories an...
Kai Robinson
Kai Robinson NONE Kai Robinson, a New England-based digital illustrator with a BFA from Montserrat College of Art, made their debut in the early reader series, Rainbow Days, by Valerie Bolling. Kai R...
Immaculée Ilibagiza
Immaculée Ilibagiza 0000000110641897 Immaculee's life was transformed dramatically during the 1994 Rwandan genocide where she and seven other women spent 91 days huddled silently together in the cram...
Sharon C. Cooper
Sharon C. Cooper NONE Sharon C. Cooper is an award-winning, bestselling author of contemporary and romantic suspense novels. She's known for her love of romance, rainy days, and peanut butter and jel...
Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead 0000000109128041 Congrats to Colson Whitehead: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Colson Whitehead, born in 1969, is an acclaimed writer who began his career at the Village Voice....
Larry Dane Brimner
Larry Dane Brimner 0000000082811384 Larry Dane Brimner, born 1949, is an award-winning author known for his innovative non-fiction for young readers. He won the 2018 Robert F. Sibert Award for his bo...
Angela P. Dodson
Angela P. Dodson NONE Angela P. Dodson is a contributing editor for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, former senior editor at The New York Times, and ex-executive editor of Black Issues Book Revie...
Regena Bryant
Regena Bryant NONE Author Regena Bryant honored a pact with her nephew, resulting in three contemporary women's fiction novels with romantic elements. Her works explore the complexity of love in mode...
Ferris Shelton
Ferris Shelton NONE Ferris Shelton, a US Marine Corps veteran and world traveler, spent significant time in east Asia and Africa. His haunting visit to Ghana inspired his work 'Seven Full Days'. A Ne...
Teodros Kiros with Cornel West
Teodros Kiros with Cornel West MULTIPLE Join us in a conversations with Cornel West, at Harvard Bookstore on March 8, 2021 Teodros Kiros is a professor at Berklee College of Music and a Dubois Fellow ...
Sawyer Cloud
Sawyer Cloud NONE Sawyer Cloud is a children's book illustrator known for works like Jade Braves the Dark and Under the Mango Tree. A lover of sunny days, music, and art, she resides in Madagascar wi...
Jamel Shabazz
Jamel Shabazz 0000000078691308 Jamel Shabazz, born in Brooklyn in 1960, is a renowned photographer whose work has been exhibited at major museums. Inspired by famed photographers, Shabazz started doc...
La Verne Ford Wimberly
La Verne Ford Wimberly NONE Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly is a revered educator known for desegregating Tulsa schools and becoming the first interim African American female superintendent. Honored with ...
Matthew Tyner, Sr.
Matthew Tyner, Sr. MULTIPLE Matthew (Matt) Tyner, Sr. is the author of Fast and Hard: From Addictions to Redemption. He is a man who has reinvented himself and has invested his second chance at life...
Ethiopian Church
Ethiopian Church NONE The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is one of the oldest Christian institutions in the world, tracing its origins to the 4th century when Christianity was adopted as the sta...
G. Neri
G. Neri 0000000022608771 G. Neri is a Coretta Scott King honor-winning author known for books like 'Yummy', 'Surf Mules', and 'Ghetto Cowboy'. His work, recognized by numerous organizations including...
David Remnick
David Remnick 0000000110215708 David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and staff writer since 1992, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for books on the Soviet Empire, Muhammad Ali, B...
Kenji Jasper
Kenji Jasper 0000000002779450 “My name is Kenji Nathaniel Jasper and I am author. But I know that in this day and age ‘authors’ come a dime a dozen. It is no longer an event when one of ou...
Jake Lamar
Jake Lamar 0000000042394002 Jake Lamar, a Bronx native, is a renowned author of the memoir, Bourgeois Blues, and novels including The Last Integrationist and Close to the Bone. Residing in Paris sinc...
Dwayne Alexander Smith
Dwayne Alexander Smith NONE Born in Harlem, Dwayne Alexander Smith is a professional screenwriter who shifted from electrical engineering to film-making. Inspired by Star Wars, he began with an award...
Judith Giesberg
Judith Giesberg 0000000110697567 Judith Giesberg is professor of history and Robert M. Birmingham chair in the humanities at Villanova University. She is the founder and director of the Last Seen ar...
Brook Stephenson
Brook Stephenson NONE AALBC.com Mourns the Loss of Brook Stephenson (February 12, 1974 — August 8, 2015) …just last week Brook was at the Corridor Gallery hosting a reading of work created...
Dorothy West
Dorothy West 0000000117719538 Dorothy West (1907-1998) was an active participant in the Harlem Renaissance and the last surviving member. Known for her short stories, she debuted with her novel 'The ...
Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish 0000000475934019 Tiffany Sarac Haddish is a pioneering black female stand-up comedian, popularly known for hosting SNL and her role in 'Girls Trip'. She's also a successful author, wi...
C. N. Phillips
C. N. Phillips NONE C. N. Phillips, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, is a renowned author known for her gritty series, The Last Kings. Signed to Carl Weber’s Urban Books, her storytelling finesse has ear...
Brendan Kiely
Brendan Kiely 0000000427845214 Brendan Kiely, a New York Times bestselling author known for 'All American Boys', 'The Last True Love Story', and 'The Gospel of Winter'. His award-winning work has bee...
J.D. Mason
J.D. Mason NONE J.D. Mason is a distinguished author with over a decade of professional writing. She self-published her debut novel twice before signing with a NYC publisher. Her work, featuring a po...
Bruce Schoenfeld
Bruce Schoenfeld NONE Bruce Schoenfeld is a renowned journalist and author, contributing to Sports Illustrated, Travel & Leisure, and the New York Times Magazine. He won Emmy Awards for his Olympic G...
Bill Bellamy
Bill Bellamy 0000000039637261 Bill Bellamy, renowned for hosting and producing TV One's “Who’s Got Jokes?”, is a former MTV VJ and host. He's starred in films and TV shows like Fled, Love Jones, and ...
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington 0000000114635056 Kerry Washington, an Emmy-winning actor, director, and producer from The Bronx, is known for her groundbreaking role in ABC's Scandal and films like Django Unchained...
Wright Thompson
Wright Thompson NONE Wright Thompson is one of the most cherished sports writers in America. His books, Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last (2020) and The Cost of The...
Torman Jahi
Torman Jahi NONE Torman Jahi, for the last 27 years, has been known as an international hip-hop artist, born and raised in East Cleveland, Ohio, and calling Oakland home for the last 25 years. Jahi,...
Sandra Kitt
Sandra Kitt 0000000082039611 This article about Sandra Kitt was written by Leah Mullen and originally appeared on WritersandPoets.com © 2001, If you’re an aspiring writer but think you don’...
Shelby Steele
Shelby Steele 0000000117385953 Shelby Steele is an award-winning author, columnist, and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow. Renowned for his study on race relations and cultural issues, Steele's work h...
Tony Medina
Tony Medina 0000000111019127 Tony Medina (Photo: WideVision Photography) was born in the South Bronx, raised in the Throgs Neck Housing Projects, and currently lives in the Washington, D...
Ronald L. Smith
Ronald L. Smith 0000000084006135 Ronald L. Smith is a former advertising writer who now dedicates his time to writing fiction. He nostalgically recalls the glamorous lifestyle of past writers. Explor...
Walter Dean Myers
Walter Dean Myers 0000000108718912 Walter Dean Myers, born August 12, 1937, was an award-winning author from Harlem, known for his dedication to children and young adult literature. He received numer...
Hayley Barrett
Hayley Barrett NONE Hayley Barrett, author of Babymoon, was inspired to write by her personal experiences nesting with her husband and newborns. She resides in eastern Massachusetts. Hayley Barrett s...
Blair L.M. Kelley
Blair L.M. Kelley NONE Blair LM Kelley, Ph.D. is a renowned author, historian, and scholar of the African American experience. She is the seventh president of the National Humanities Center, the onl...
Joyce Carol Thomas
Joyce Carol Thomas 0000000377888506 Joyce Carol Thomas is an award-winning author known globally for her novels and picture books. She received the National Book Award for 'Marked By Fire' and multip...
Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan 0000000063847832 Ashley Bryan (1923-2022) was a celebrated illustrator, recognized for his contributions to children's literature. His accolades include the Coretta Scott King—Virginia...
Leo and Diane Dillon
Leo and Diane Dillon MULTIPLE “In terms of our art, it is virtually impossible to consider us separately,” During more than four decades of illustrating children’s books, two-time Caldeco...
Elizabeth Zunon
Elizabeth Zunon NONE Elizabeth Zunon is a bilingual artist raised in the Ivory Coast, West Africa. She nurtured her love for drawing and painting from a young age, leading to her focus on children's ...
acVernon Menchan
acVernon Menchan NONE Vernon Menchan, also known as Angelia, is a passionate writer and publisher with her company M.A.m.m. Productions. She's known for her “Fictionalized Truths, Ageless Fiction and...
Nina LaCour
Nina LaCour 0000000368942806 Nina LaCour is the bestselling and Michael L. Printz Award-winning author of Yerba Buena, Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle, We Are Okay, Watch Over Me, Hold Still, Th...
Alex Simmons
Alex Simmons 0000000040307489 Alex Simmons is a prolific writer and publisher, known for his work across various genres including juvenile mysteries, stage plays, biographies, and movie novelizations...
Stephanie Renee Bell
Stephanie Renee Bell NONE Stephanie Renée Bell, an author of 5 books and a gifted musician, dedicated her life to her faith and art until her passing in 2010. Renowned for her Christian rap songs, p...
Arnold Rampersad
Arnold Rampersad 0000000110823009 Arnold Rampersad, a renowned professor emeritus at Stanford University, is a respected author of biographies including those of Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, an...
Brandon Massey
Brandon Massey 0000000038345320 Brandon Massey, born on June 9, 1973, is a passionate writer from Illinois now based in Atlanta. With an early fascination for words and stories, he began writing in h...
Brandy Colbert
Brandy Colbert 0000000409932699 Brandy Colbert is an award-winning author hailing from Missouri. Her work primarily focuses on young adult and children's literature, with titles such as “Little & Lio...
Brian Egeston
Brian Egeston NONE Brian Egeston, a writer and former engineer, uses his jovial demeanor and humor to transfer emotion through his words. He began writing to combat boredom, turning his short stories...
Faye Thompson
Faye Thompson NONE Faye Thompson, a passionate author, discovered her love for writing at a young age. After a life diversion and a degree in psychology, an epiphany led her back to her true calling....
Camille Yarbrough
Camille Yarbrough 0000000063310082 Read a Wonderful Article Describing Yarbrough’s Life NANA CAMILLE YARBROUGH Ms. Yarbrough, a multi-talented veteran of theater, film, ...
John G. Jackson
John G. Jackson 0000000027592692 John Glover Jackson, one of our greatest cultural historians, was born on April 1, 1907 (he died October 13, 1993) in Aiken, South Carolina. Jokingly, he would somet...
William C. Rhoden
William C. Rhoden NONE Author Rhoden delves into institutionalized racism in sports in his book, “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.” He traces African ...
Casey Curry
Casey Curry NONE Casey Curry, Director of Creative Writing at a fine arts school in Tampa, has a rich life experience of moving 13 times due to her husband's military career. A mother of four, she en...
Charles Wright
Charles Wright 0000000119446967 Charles Wright (1932-2008) was an American novelist, avid reader, and high school dropout who served in the Army during the Korean War. Moving to New York in his 20s, ...
Cinque Brown
Cinque Brown NONE Cinque Brown, a Harlem native, is a full-time philosopher with a passion for questioning life. He's an avid learner with a focus on science and technology, and enjoys social comment...
Darline Dorce-Coupet
Darline Dorce-Coupet NONE Darline Dorce-Coupet was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti but was raised in Miami, Florida, which was home for years. However, Ms. Dorce-Coupet has recently relocated...
Marc Lamont Hill
Marc Lamont Hill 0000000055257314 In November 2017 Marc Opened a boostore in Philadelphia Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is a renowned intellectual voice, anthropologist of e...
Patrick Denard Douthit
Patrick Denard Douthit 0000000047281613 Patrick Denard Douthit, known as “9th Wonder”, is a Grammy-winning producer, DJ, lecturer, and social activist from Winston-Salem, NC. Born in 1975, he has bee...
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...
Larry Eugene Rivers
Larry Eugene Rivers NONE Dr. Larry E. Rivers is a distinguished educator with degrees from Fort Valley State College, Villanova University, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the University of London. H...
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...
Tommie Thomas
Tommie Thomas NONE Tommie Lee Thomas, a determined individual of Cherokee Indian and African descent, overcame poverty and adversity to become a retired employee of Ford Motor Company, the City of De...
G. Percy Smalley
G. Percy Smalley NONE G. Percy Smalley, a Los Angeles native, began writing to impress his now-wife Natalie, and continues to captivate her with romantic tales. With degrees in Business Management an...
Carla Hall
Carla Hall NONE “Say Yes! Adventure follows, then growth” Carla Hall, co-host of ABC's “The Chew”, followed her passion from accounting to modeling, and eventually discovered her true call...
James Stewart
James Stewart 0000000121039797 Dr. James Stewart, a native of Cleveland & Professor Emeritus at Penn State University, is the President of ASALH’s Manasota Chapter. He held leadership roles in major ...
Skyler Houston
Skyler Houston NONE Skyler “Skye” Houston is a Mississippi-born, Georgia-raised author with a Master's in Organizational Leadership. Her love for children and writing inspired her to pen “I Want to b...
David Goggins
David Goggins 0000000499818549 David Goggins transformed his life through self-discipline and hard work, overcoming adversity to become a U.S. Armed Forces icon and world-class endurance athlete. He'...
Rachel Moss
Rachel Moss 0000000053187316 Rachel Moss, a Jamaican-born graphic designer, studied animation in England. She's now based in Jamaica, illustrating vibrant, colorful children's books including 'Celebr...
Osei Badu-Nkansah
Osei Badu-Nkansah NONE Osei Badu-Nkansah is a seasoned IT Architect and author with vast experience in technology deployment projects in Africa. An alumnus of the University of Science & Technology, ...
Kenya Hunt
Kenya Hunt NONE Kenya Hunt, Fashion Director at Grazia UK, has a vast career in media, working with top women's titles in the US and UK. An accomplished writer, her work is featured in various public...