AALBC Search
Ronald Fair
Ronald Fair 0000000116782340 Chicago-born African-American author, Ronald L. Fair, inspired by Richard Wright, carved his own literary path. Born in 1932, Fair served in the U.S. Navy before becoming...
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...
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...
Barbara Keaton
Barbara Keaton NONE Barbara Keaton, a Chicago native, is a published author and experienced professional in public and community relations. She attributes her respect for the written word to her Cath...
Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D.
Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D. NONE Chicago-born Theresa Michelle Wilson, also known as Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., is a southern siren based in Atlanta. A graduate of Millikin University School of M...
Natalie Y. Moore
Natalie Y. Moore 0000000041217426 Natalie Y. Moore is an award-winning journalist and author, known for her work in Essence, Black Enterprise, and the Chicago Tribune. She co-authored books on Black ...
Harold Green III
Harold Green III NONE Internationally-admired artist, Harold Green III, is the author of Black Rosesv and Black Oak. Known for his poetry, Green won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award for his debut col...
Tiffany Gholar
Tiffany Gholar NONE Tiffany Gholar is a diverse Chicago artist with a Master's in Painting. She's exhibited at various local venues, studied at the University of Chicago, Harrington College of Design...
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...
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...
Claire Hartfield
Claire Hartfield 0000000034014030 Claire Hartfield is a Yale and University of Chicago-educated lawyer specializing in school desegregation. She has contributed to policy and program development in C...
Eve L. Ewing
Eve L. Ewing 0000000504145239 Dr. Eve Louise Ewing, a sociologist and writer from Chicago, has authored award-winning works such as Electric Arches and Ghosts in the Schoolyard. A professor at the Un...
Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett NONE Valerie Jarrett, a long-term senior adviser to President Obama, led several White House initiatives and held key roles in Chicago's government and business sectors. She's recogni...
Max Rodriguez
Max Rodriguez NONE Max Rodriguez is the founder and publisher of QBR/The Black Book Review, one of the nation’s premier publications dedicated to books by and about people of African descent. ...
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...
Leire Salaberria
Leire Salaberria 0000000360451551 Leire Salaberria, born in Spain in 1983, is a Fine Arts graduate who specializes in Children's Illustration. She's exhibited her work globally and has been featured ...
Mary Pattillo-McCoy
Mary Pattillo-McCoy NONE Mary Pattillo specializes in urban sociology, focusing on the black middle class, using Chicago as her research backdrop. Her book, Black Picket Fences, explores child-rearin...
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...
Kakwasi Somadhi
Kakwasi Somadhi NONE Kakwasi Somadhi Kakwasi is a seasoned writer and educator with an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College. She made her debut with the novel “Coming Forth by Day.” Besides t...
Armand Anthony Gonzalzles
Armand Anthony Gonzalzles NONE Armand Anthony Gonzalzles, a Chicago native, is an education and biology graduate turned medical professional. After a successful teaching career, he attended Loyola St...
Mark Allen Boone
Mark Allen Boone NONE Mark Allen Boone, born in 1951, is a former teacher and accomplished editor with over 30 years of experience. He authored two novels and served as the fiction editor of AIM Quar...
Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo and Margie Marie Neal
Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo and Margie Marie Neal MULTIPLE Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo, a former Nigerian newspaper publisher/editor and author of five books, and Margie Marie Neal, a former university pro...
Tara Betts
Tara Betts NONE Tara Betts, a celebrated author and poet, is known for her educational efforts in arts programs and her work with GirlSpeak. She has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and the Blac...
Michael Marsh
Michael Marsh 0000000121034451 Michael Marsh is an editorial assistant at the Chicago Reader, with a background in covering high school sports for major Chicago newspapers.
Charles S. Johnson
Charles S. Johnson 0000000108707076 Charles Spurgeon Johnson was a prominent 20th-century black sociologist, key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Chicago....
George E. Johnson with Hillary Beard
George E. Johnson with Hillary Beard MULTIPLE George Ellis Johnson Sr. (born June 12, 1927) is the founder of the Johnson Products Company, the maker of Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen, the first Black-o...
George E. Johnson
George E. Johnson NONE George Ellis Johnson Sr. (born June 12, 1927) is the founder of the Johnson Products Company, the maker of Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen, the first Black-owned company to trade o...
Jessica Fong
Jessica Fong NONE Jessica Fong is a Latina and native Spanish speaker who is deeply rooted in the environmental education community of Chicago as well as nationally. Jessica’s teaching journey...
Sarah E. Farro
Sarah E. Farro NONE Sarah E. Farro, a black author born in 1859, wrote 'True Love: A Story of English Domestic Life' in 1891, making her the second known African-American woman novelist of the 19th c...
Brett T. Brown
Brett T. Brown NONE Brett Tyler Brown, born in 1997, is a talented self-taught artist inspired by Chicago's architecture. His passion for art extends to architecture, animation, and writing. He wrote...
Nathan Huggins
Nathan Huggins 0000000110473299 Nathan Irvin Huggins (1927-1989) was a renowned historian, author, and educator specializing in African-American studies. He served as the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor a...
Dana Kaye
Dana Kaye NONE Dana Kaye, owner of Kaye Publicity Inc., is a PR expert and author with a background in fiction writing. Renowned for her industry insight and innovative ideas, she frequently speaks o...
Angela Jackson
Angela Jackson 0000000035958201 Angela Jackson, born in 1951, is an acclaimed poet, novelist, and playwright from Mississippi. Raised in Chicago, she's a Northwestern and University of Chicago alumna...
Ethan Michaeli
Ethan Michaeli NONE Ethan Michaeli, the author of Twelve Tribes: Promise and Peril in the New Israel (Custom House Books, 2021), was praised by National Book Award-winner Evan Osnos as a “master por...
Obari Cartman
Obari Cartman NONE Dr. Obari Adéye Cartman is a Chicago-based psychologist, educator, and author, specializing in issues concerning mental health, cultural identity, and manhood. He works as a resto...
Craig Rex Perry
Craig Rex Perry NONE Craig Rex Perry, a renowned American fashion artist, is known for his unique style and illustrations. Trained at prestigious institutes, including the School of the Art Institute...
Jacqueline Alcantara
Jacqueline Alcantara NONE Jacqueline Alcántara is a freelance illustrator specializing in children’s literature. After teaching art and photography, she pursued projects featuring diverse main chara...
Calvin Stovall Jr.
Calvin Stovall Jr. NONE Calvin Stovall Jr.’s interest in Black history began early, sparked by a large book of historically influential African Americans that his mother gave him. While in elementar...
Yolanda Joe
Yolanda Joe NONE Yolanda Joe, a Yale and Columbia Journalism graduate, is a bestselling author known for novels like My Fine Lady. A former TV and radio producer, Joe also writes mysteries as Ardella...
Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks 0000000081816650 Brooks was U.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1985-1986 (title was changed to U.S. Poet Laureate in 1986) Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (1917-2000) was an influential African-Am...
Jeffery Renard Allen
Jeffery Renard Allen 0000000114593327 Jeffery Renard Allen, an award-winning author of poetry, short stories, and novels, is known for his celebrated novel, 'Rails Under My Back'. He's a fellow at pr...
Kelvin Bodley
Kelvin Bodley NONE Kelvin D. Bodley, a Chicago native and now Florida resident, is a social change advocate, author, and Minister of the Gospel. He served as the Special Assistant to Mayor Anthony Gr...
Mariame Kaba
Mariame Kaba 0000000512367579 Mariame Kaba is a justice advocate, educator, and founder of Project NIA, aimed at ending youth incarceration. She's a researcher at Interrupting Criminalization at the ...
Herbert G. McCann
Herbert G. McCann NONE Herbert G. McCann, an Associated Press sports and business writer, is a former Chicago Defender editor and collaborator of Alfred Duckett, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speechwr...
Edward Kelsey Moore
Edward Kelsey Moore 0000000376833028 Edward Kelsey Moore is a renowned author and cellist based in Chicago. His debut novel was a NY Times bestseller and his short fiction has gained recognition, par...
University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff
University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff NONE The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff represents the collective judgment of Press editors past and present, going back to 1892.
Leon Forrest
Leon Forrest 0000000078313585 Leon Richard Forrest, born in Chicago, was a novelist, journalist, and former Public Information Officer for the US Army. He taught at Northwestern University for over 2...
Michelle Rhnea Yisrael
Michelle Rhnea Yisrael NONE Michelle Rhnea Yisrael is an empowering educator with 30+ years of experience. With advanced degrees in English and Online Teaching, she's served as a district leader, dir...
Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. MULTIPLE Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., a Philadelphia native, is a respected theologian and pastor. After serving in the military, he completed his higher education at How...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama 0000000121331026 Barack Obama, born in Hawaii in 1961, was the 44th President of the United States. Raised in a middle-class family, he worked his way through college and became the firs...
David Anthony Geary
David Anthony Geary NONE David Anthony Geary, a versatile artist with a 25-year career in mediums such as painting, sculpture, and photography. Trained at Xavier University, his work is showcased in ...
Matt Forté
Matt Forté NONE Matthew Garrett Forté, born in 1985, is a retired NFL player best known as a running back for the Chicago Bears. He was recognized for his versatility, amassing over 9,000 rushing an...
Keith Mosley
Keith Mosley NONE Keith Mosley is the author of Dying Eyes Don’t Lie about a Chicago detective who uses his shamanic powers to see through the eyes of the dead to solve difficult murder cases. Keith ...
Nichole L. Shields
Nichole L. Shields NONE Nichole L. Shields (1969-2009) was a celebrated poet and essayist, renowned for her impactful story-telling as a black woman. She was a two-time Gwendolyn Brooks poetry winner...
Linda A. Duggins
Linda A. Duggins NONE Linda A. Duggins is the Director of Multicultural Publicity at Hachette Book Group and Co-founder of the Harlem Book Fair. She's a board member of several literacy organizations...
Boubacar Boris Diop
Boubacar Boris Diop 0000000121417292 Boubacar Boris Diop is a renowned Senegalese novelist and screenwriter. His acclaimed work, Murambi, The Book of Bones, made it to Africa's 100 Best Books of the ...
Ted Joans
Ted Joans 0000000081560413 “Jazz is my religion.” Theodore “Ted” Joans was an acclaimed jazz poet, surrealist, trumpeter, and painter, known for his avant-garde work and criticism of compe...
Billy Johnson
Billy Johnson NONE Billy Johnson is an African American writer originally from Staten Island, New York. A graduate of Curtis High School, he went on to attend Triton College in River Forest, Illinoi...
Jack Olsen
Jack Olsen 0000000080864730 Jack Olsen is a celebrated author of 33 books available in 15 countries and 11 languages. As a former Time bureau chief, he contributed to various high-profile publication...
Jean “Binta” Breeze
Jean “Binta” Breeze 0000000025335932 Jean “Binta” Breeze (1956–2021) was a renowned Jamaican poet who published eight books and performed globally. She first gained recognition in 1985 at the Inter...
Laura Nsafou
Laura Nsafou 000000046109520X Laura Nsafou, alias Mrs Roots, is an Afrofeminist blogger and author known for her literature reviews and articles on Afrofeminism in France. As the founder of Afrolab a...
James Kaplan
James Kaplan 0000000114392023 James Kaplan, a Guggenheim Fellow, is a prolific writer whose work has been featured in top magazines like The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. He's penned novels such as 'Pe...
David Margolick
David Margolick 000000011572515X David Margolick is a seasoned editor with roles at Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and Portfolio. Known for his 15-year tenure as a legal affairs correspondent for the New Yor...
Trey Ellis
Trey Ellis 000000011675397X Trey Ellis is a multi-talented writer, novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, and Associate Professor at Columbia University. He's known for his Emmy-nominated HBO ...
Ronin Ro
Ronin Ro 0000000035931519 Ronin Ro, a New York City-based author, began his career writing for Dance Music Report and The Source, eventually contributing to renowned publications like Rolling Stone a...
Desmond Meade
Desmond Meade NONE Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, is a renowned advocate for voting rights. A former homeless retur...
Gwendolyn Osborne
Gwendolyn Osborne NONE Gwendolyn Osborne, known as “The Word Diva”, was a Chicago-based freelance writer and former associate editor for Black Issues Book Review. Known for her love of romance novels...
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...
Neely Daggett
Neely Daggett NONE Neely Daggett, an Iranian American artist, born in Missouri (1982) and raised in Chicago, now resides in Portland, Oregon. She possesses degrees in psychology and graphic design. A...
Nancy Johnson
Nancy Johnson 0000000100781802 A native of Chicago's South Side, Nancy Johnson worked for more than a decade as an Emmy-nominated, award-winning television journalist at CBS and ABC affiliates nation...
Tony Lindsay
Tony Lindsay NONE Tony Lindsay, an accomplished author known for novels like One Dead Preacher and Urban Affair, also contributes to various anthologies, online platforms, and magazines. He's an adju...
Susan D. Peters
Susan D. Peters NONE Susan D. Peters, a Chicago native and DePaul University graduate, lived in Liberia for 11 years. Her experiences during the Liberian Civil War inspired her award-winning memoir, ...
Sam Greenlee
Sam Greenlee 000000005809192X Samuel Greenlee, best known for his novel “The Spook Who Sat by the Door”, was a writer and former USIA officer. Born in Chicago, he served in the military, worked in po...
David T. Boyd
David T. Boyd NONE Chicago-born author David T. Boyd discovered his passion for writing early, penning his first story at nine. Inspired by authors like Stephen King, he developed his short story int...
Ian K. Smith
Ian K. Smith 0000000036919431 Dr. Ian K. Smith, a renowned physician, author, and former TV co-host, has contributed to various notable publications and founded two national health initiatives. An al...
Patty Pinner
Patty Pinner NONE Patty Pinne is an acclaimed author known for her cookbook, 'Sweets: A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories', recognized as one of the year's best by The New York Times and ...
Patti Labelle
Patti Labelle 0000000063111489 Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards, born May 24, 1944, is best known as Patti LaBelle. She is renowned for her soulful singing, style, and cooking. When I sing I sing with ...
Shandon D. Allen
Shandon D. Allen NONE Born in South Carolina to a Marine and martial artist father, and raised in South Memphis by a mother who dedicated more than 40 years to social work and property management, S...
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley 000000011476515X Ziggy Marley, five-time Grammy-winning musician, actor, and activist, was born in Jamaica to Bob and Rita Marley. He began his career in music at just 10 years old and l...
Cynthia Manick
Cynthia Manick NONE Cynthia Manick's poetry collection, No Sweet Without Brine, is a celebration of self-love and culture. Through lyrical expressions, she explores daily life, familial bonds, and so...
Teddy Riley
Teddy Riley 0000000078243847 Edward Theodore “Teddy” Riley is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and musical innovator whose work has shaped the sound of modern R&B and hip-hop for mor...
Marlon B. Ross
Marlon B. Ross 0000000081773531 Marlon B. Ross is a Professor of English at the University of Virginia, specializing in African American, gender and sexuality studies, and romanticism. He holds a Ph....
Aaron McGruder
Aaron McGruder 0000000037086910 Aaron McGruder, born in Chicago in 1974, is best known for creating the comic strip The Boondocks. Inspired by hip hop and politics, he debuted his work online in 1996...
Kerry James Marshall
Kerry James Marshall 0000000078485491 Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American painter, printmaker and sculptor whose large‑scale figurative work centers Bl...
Margaret Walker
Margaret Walker 0000000120999163 Margaret Walker was a renowned American poet and writer, known for her works “For My People” and “Jubilee.” She was a key figure in the African-American literary move...
Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson 0000000108766551 “Only when lions have historians will hunters cease being heroes.” —African Proverb Carter G. Woodson, the son of former slaves, became a renowned scholar, earning a...
Erik Campano, Isabel Esteviz, Sheila Taylor-Downer, and Robyn Williams
Erik Campano, Isabel Esteviz, Sheila Taylor-Downer, and Robyn Williams MULTIPLE Robyn Williams is a bestselling author, non-profit founder, and business development associate focused on literacy and ...
Charlos Gary
Charlos Gary 0000000040441645 Charlos Gary is an award-winning cartoonist known for the comic strip “Working It Out.” Raised in poverty, he used his artistic talents to rise above his circumstances, ...
Connie Bradley
Connie Bradley NONE Connie Divers Bradley, also known as Cynique, is a retired postal worker and provocative columnist based in Chicago. She has been a notable contributor to the AALBC discussion boa...
Camille Acker
Camille Acker NONE Camille Acker, a Washington, DC native, is an esteemed writer and educator. With degrees from Howard University and New Mexico State University, she's been recognized by numerous a...
Chanda Feldman
Chanda Feldman 0000000497214477 Chanda Feldman, an accomplished poet and academic, hails from Nashville, Tennessee. She's a former Wallace Stegner Fellow, NEA grant recipient, and is currently teachi...
Jamila Woods, Mahogany L. Browne, and Idrissa Simmonds
Jamila Woods, Mahogany L. Browne, and Idrissa Simmonds MULTIPLE Jamila Woods, a Chicago-based poet influenced by Lucille Clifton and Gwendolyn Brooks, explores themes of blackness and womanhood. Maho...
Jawanza Kunjufu, Erica Myles, and Nichelle Wilson
Jawanza Kunjufu, Erica Myles, and Nichelle Wilson MULTIPLE Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, a prolific author of 65+ books like 'Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys', collaborates with Chicago-based ...
Kazembe
Kazembe NONE Lasana Kazembe is a renowned poet, essayist, and lecturer, recognized for his performances at literary venues across Chicago. Garnering accolades such as the 1st Place Winner of the Gwen...
Jacob Carruthers
Jacob Carruthers NONE Dr. Jacob Hudson Carruthers, Jr. was an esteemed African American scholar, historian, and educator. He founded the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations a...
Bill Pinkney
Bill Pinkney 0000000033679583 Captain Bill Pinkney, born in Chicago's Bronzeville, was a US Navy Vet and Coast Guard licensed Master of Steam, Power, and Sail vessels. He held diverse roles such as a...
Christian Cook
Christian Cook 0000000109462330 Christian Sandra-Elise Cook, a Detroit-born author, graduated early from high school and earned a BA in Public Relations from Columbia College Chicago. Her passion for...
Jacqueline Bryant
Jacqueline Bryant NONE Jacqueline Bryant is a professor at Chicago State University, specializing in English and African American studies. She authored “The Foremother Figure in Early Black Women’s L...
Lowell D. Thompson
Lowell D. Thompson NONE Lowell Thompson is an accomplished artist and writer with a rich history in advertising. A pioneer as one of the first African-Americans in advertising, he now channels his cr...