Black & Published

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Rhonda McKnight, author of the novel Writer in Residence. The novel is set in the bookish world as her main character Alex, is a writer.

In our conversation, Rhonda explains how writing this novel allowed her the freedom to express her real thoughts about her profession and the publishing industry. Plus, how she’s learned to be okay with keeping her romances closed door. And in setting the novel on the Gullah island of Edisto, in the South Carolina low country, how she was able to thread the needle between telling the truth and not dishonoring a people she greatly respects.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks wit Shanda McManus, author of Brother Epistles: A Sister's Memoir.

In the book Shanda writes letters to her brother Monir, who was murdered in 1992, finally reckoning with her grief more than 30 years later.

In our conversation, Shanda discusses why she believes, death doesn’t sever relationships or connections. And why she says her brother’s death is a result of the in-between economy and the systemic structures that funnel young Black men toward homicide.

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Buy The Seven Daughters of Dupree Today!

This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Shannon Sanders, author of the novel, The Great Wherever.

It’s a generational family saga about a thirty-something woman living in D.C. who suddenly learns she has a stake in a century-old family farm.

In this story of inheritance Shannon leaves no topic untouched from reproductive rights, and the ubiquity of the queer community throughout the annals of time, to the precarious cruelty that happens when Black people are in white spaces.

In our conversation, Shannon discusses the dangers of leaving behind both your place and your people. Plus, why she doesn’t believe fiction can truly correct the historical record.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with, Trisha R. Thomas, the author of, Nappily Ever After, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

It’s a book Trisha was moved to write after working in the school system. In our conversation, she discusses why she believes Black Beauty culture has always been about both power and pain.

Plus, what still excites Trisha about publishing 25 years after her debut.

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Buy The Seven Daughters of Dupree Today!

This week on Black & Published, Nikesha kicks off Season 7 with Deesha Philyaw, the author of the debut novel, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman.

It’s a satirical romp through a Black mega-church from the perspective of its esteemed First Lady, Scharisse Freeman, who wants nothing more than to be accepted even though that validation might come at the cost of her soul.

In our conversation, Deesha discusses the twenty-year journey to bring this book to life, what she was doing on the page that held her back from unlocking the story she really wanted to tell, and why she believes it’s okay if your ambition doesn’t match your skillset when you first begin a project.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Amena Brown, author of the essay collection, Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl.

It’s not Amena’s first book, but it's the first where she felt like she could say what she wanted, how she wanted, and to whom she wanted after years of holding her tongue in public and on the page.

In our conversation, Amena explains why she will always refer to herself as an independent performing artist. Plus, how long it took for her to deconstruct and unlearn the harmful conservative Christian theology that had to be included in her first two books before she found her authentic voice.

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Buy The Seven Daughters of Dupree Today!

This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with T Clark, author of the short-story collection, All This Want (and I Can't Get None).

The collection is made up of 12 stories that follow young girls and queer teens as they come of age in the small towns or big cities of the Northeast.

In our conversation, T, who is a New York native, discusses the importance of epiphany and revelation in the creation of a story. And in penning a collection about desire how T’s desires have changed as their basic needs have been met.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Dr. LeConté Dill, author of the poetry collection, Soul Survivors.

The collection is born out of 15 years of research, data, and analysis, from working with young Black girls across the country and how they navigate violence while still proudly repping their hood.

In our conversation, Dr. Dill explains how external validation gave her permission to be more of herself. Plus, how she's using research to amplify what it means to be a Black girl, a Black woman, caught between good and ghetto.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Terah Shelton Harris, author of the novel Where the Wildflowers Grow. It's a novel about a woman who grew up off the grid, finds herself incarcerated, and after a major accident is allowed the chance to rebuild her life thanks in no small part to a handsome man.

In our conversation, Terah explains why she hates the term “smut” when it’s used to describe any book with sex on the page. Plus, why she made how to heal from complex grief, even without closure, the primary theme of her novel.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Chet'la Sebree, author of the travel memoir in essays, Turn Where: A Geography of Home.

It’s a book that sent Chet’la wandering across the country and around the world asking the same three questions over and over again.

In our conversation, Chet'la explains how the three questions provided a framework for the book. Plus, why the form of the essay allows her to be the most honest. And how her decision to parent as a single person gave her clarity in other areas of her life.

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