This week on Black & Published Nikesha speaks with Rachel Howzell Hall, the author of the thriller Fog and Fury. The publication of this books marks twenty three years since Rachel’s publishing debut.

In our conversation, Rachel discusses why it’s important for authors to know and lean into their brand. Plus, what she found to be the true secret sauce to go from writer to published author. And the reason she says even when you achieve all your writer dreams, your life still doesn’t change. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Laura Pegram, the editor of Sing The Truth: The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection. The anthology comes 15 years after Kweli debuted as the premier online literary journal focused on nuturing the voices of emerging writers who identify as Black, indigenous, or as other people of color. 

In our conversation, Laura explains how she got the idea to start the journal when she was in the hospital and could barely move. Plus, why at her weakest moments she held tight to creating a life of literary arts. And how she’s reframing the notion that for writers, rejection is the rule.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Nancy Johnson, author of People of Means. It's a dual timeline historical fiction novel about the choices a mother and daughter make as they pursue excellence in a time of intense activism. 

In our conversation, Nancy discusses what triggered her to start telling stories of her own. Plus, the hidden history she learned on a phone call with the late great Nikki Giovanni that inspired one timeline in the novel. And the challenge she faces as a Black author as she tries to get her work in front of more Black readers.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with James Stewart, III, the author of the novel, Defiant Acts. It’s a non linear story about an interracial family that couples the mundanity of everyday life with the incendiary explosiveness of racial reckoning out in the world. 

In our conversation, James discusses how he recreated his life from what was expected of him as a working class man. Plus, how he allowed his personal values guide his craft and bridge the gaps in his memory in this work of auto-fiction. And in working 10 years to publish this book James explains why his first publisher canceled his book deal. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Honorée Fannone Jeffers, the author of Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays and Writings. The book blends, history, cultural criticism and memoir seamlessly to weave a story about Black women in America, their worth, their value, and their inherent humanity and equality. 

In our conversation, Honorée explained how she found peace and a place of healing for herself after her mother's passing. Plus, the Black women writers who have carried her to where she is now. And why she says she had to leave the classroom seven years before retirement after giving her love for free. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Kristina Forest the author of The Love Lyric. It’s the final installment of Kristina’s romance trilogy about three sisters who are named after flowers. 

In our conversation, Kristina’s discusses how working on both sides of the aisle in the publishing industry gives her a unique advantage even if she still has questions. The reason she’s concerned about YA as a whole in publishing. Plus,  the timeline she set for herself to achieve her dreams so her MFA wouldn’t be a waste of money. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Nikkolas Smith about his new picture book The History of We. It's a book he says shows the lineage for every human on Earth beginning with Black people in Africa.

In our conversation, Nikkolas discusses why he's grateful for the winding path that led him to his full time role as an illustrator. Plus the Jim Crow era story that was one inspiration point for the book. And the viral piece he created for the 2016 summer games as a tribute to Simone Biles that led to his first book deal and current career. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Mahogany L. Browne, the author of the new YA novel A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe. The story is a real time exploration of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York told through a chorus of young voices and borne out of Mahogany’s own battle with the virus. 

In our conversation, Mahogany explains how poetry saved her when journalism became unsafe. Plus, what she wished she’d known sooner as she was circling the globe doing poetry in places like Poland and Australia. And the critique she got from a high school English Teacher that actually became an asset for the New York Times. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Kiese Laymon and Alexis Franklin about their new picture book, City Summer, Country Summer. It's a story about an up north city kid who goes down south to visit his country cousins for the summer. 

In our conversation, Kiese & Alexis discuss how they were able to explore in their own ways what intimacy looks like between young Black boys. Plus, how this story puts the harmful narrative of pause no homo” on notice. And what they’ve been able to give school children across the country by honoring the child in all of us. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Dwight Thompson, author of the novel, My Own Dear People. It’s a story about a young man reflecting on the harm he and his friends caused a young teacher while they were in high school and why even as a spectator the protagonist was still a perpetrator. 

In our conversation, Dwight explains how his own reflection of his boyhood informed the creation of his character. Plus, how telling the truth got his first novel labeled as "too lewd." And, the measurement Dwight uses when writing that lets him know he’s on the right track. 

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