Black & Published

This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Laura Warrell, author of the novel, Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, which was named a ‘best’ or ‘must-read’ book by Vanity Fair, People, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and more. The novel was chosen as a Good Morning America Buzz Pick and Laura was named 
a “Writer to Watch” by Publishers Weekly. She grew up in Kent and Columbus, Ohio.

In our conversation, Laura discusses her 25 year journey to publishing her debut novel. What it means now that her big dream has come true. And why she's not committed to giving her characters happy endings. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, author of the short story collection, Drinking from Graveyard Wells (University Press of Kentucky, Spring 2023) which was selected for the 2021 UPK New Poetry & Prose Series. Yvette is a Zimbabwean sarungano (storyteller).  Her novel manuscript in progress was selected by George RR Martin for the Worldbuilder Scholarship. She is pursuing her MFA at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she teaches in the Writing Program.  

In our conversation, Yvette discusses why she's forcing readers to come to her, the collaborative model she believes all editors should work under, and why she supports Black mediocrity in addition to Black excellence. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Sophronia Scott, author of the novel, Wild, Beautiful and Free. Sophfronia holds a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She began her career as an award-winning magazine journalist for Time, and People. When her first novel, All I Need to Get By, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2004 Sophfronia was nominated for best new author at the African American Literary Awards. Sophfronia’s other books include The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton, Unforgivable Love, Love’s Long Line, Doing Business By the Book, and This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World, co-written with her son Tain. Currently, Sophfronia is the founding director of Alma College’s MFA in Creative Writing, a low-residency graduate program based in Alma, Michigan. 

In our conversation, we discuss how she grew up in Lorain, Ohio--hometown of Toni Morrison--with a father who couldn't read. The one class in college that led her to writing when she was supposed to become a doctor, and the lengths she went to do her work as a writer, including driving a school bus, part-time, while she earned her MFA. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Diane Marie Brown, author of the novel, Black Candle Women. A  professor at Orange Coast College and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department, Diane has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program. She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie. Black Candle Women is her debut novel.

In our conversation, Diane discusses the incidents in her childhood that made her afraid to take risks in her writing, the experience of winning a publishing contest with a manuscript that had been sitting in a drawer for a decade, and the connection she found between Voodoo and Catholicism that helped her bring to life her novel about the rituals of hoodoo magic. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Destiny O. Birdsong, author of the triptych novel Nobody's Magic.  She's also a poet and essayist, and her workhas either appeared or is forthcoming in the Paris Review Daily, Poets & Writers, African American Review, The Best American Poetry 2021, and elsewhere. Nobody’s Magic, was published by Grand Central in February 2022 and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.

In our conversation, Destiny discusses the deal she made with herself to write whatever came to her mind, shopping a manuscript before it was ready and the power of affirmation that boosted her confidence for writing a story entirely in AAVE. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Danyel Smith, author of the Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. Danyel is anaward-winning journalist, and producer. She’s the creator and host of the Black Girl Songbook podcast, a music and talk show that centers black women in music. Danyel has served as editor of Billboard, editor at large at Time Inc., and editor in chief of Vibe. She's also the author of two novels—More Like Wrestling (2003), and Bliss (2005).

In our conversation, Danyel discusses growing up reading about rock stars in Rolling Stones and wishing there was coverage of the Black artists she loved. How in writing the history of Black women in pop she gained the confidence to put herself in the story, and the most surprising thing she learned in researching her book that covers everyone from Phillis Wheatley to Rihanna. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Tia Williams, author of the New York Times bestselling novel Seven Days in June. Tia had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, and Essence. She also wrote the bestselling novel, The Accidental Diva, and penned two YA novels: It Chicks, and Sixteen Candles. Her award-winning novel, The Perfect Find, will be adapted into a Netflix film starring Gabrielle Union this year.

In our conversation, Tia discusses how living with chronic pain pushes her to accomplish everything she sets her mind to, the reason Black authors should walk through every open door publishing offers (even if it's a trend), and the best way to fight for your own happy ending.  

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Janay Harden, author of the novel Forty-Two Minutes. As a licensed clinical social worker, Janay works as a mental health therapist.  She is the CEO of Restoring Your Destiny Counseling and Consulting and has over ten years of experience working in the mental health field with children, families, and schools. She's translated her background in mental health into accessible stories for children and teens. 

In our conversation, Janay discusses why she wants to be known as the storytelling therapist, the generational inheritances she believes keeps people in a chokehold, and how she finally got the guts to ignite her writing career in the middle of the COVID pandemic. 

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Ladee Hubbard, author of the short story collection, The Last Suspicious Holdout. Ladee is also the author of the novels The Talented Ribkins which received the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction and The Rib King. Her writing has appeared in Oxford American, Guernica, Virginia Quarterly and Callaloo among other venues.  Born in Massachusetts and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida, She currently lives in New Orleans. 

In our conversation, Ladee discusses why she felt the need to pursue an MFA after already earning a Ph.D. and having children. Plus, how Hurricane Katrina inspired her need to share her writing and be in community with other storytellers. She also details how the cynicism and suspicion after President Obama's historic election in 2008 was the fuel for the fire needed to produce this short story collection.

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This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with Mant¿s, author of the poetry collection, The Rootwork Stretched. Mant¿s writes from the intersections of Black, femme, queer, and artist. They are Pittsburgh born, and Hill District raised. They have performed their poetry at universities, open mics, launch parties, book tours, and featured showcases throughout Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York City. Mant¿s creates work that reflects their healing.

In our conversation Mant¿s discusses how poetry is a form of holistic health care she gives to herself, the importance of voicing things out loud, and how poetry allows her to speak across time and give birth to new versions of herself. 

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