Black & Published

This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Jill Tew, author of the YA dystopian romance novel, The Dividing Sky. It's a book Jill says she hopes disrupts old norms for her young audience

In our conversation, Jill explains how she fell into the productivity trap in corporate America and the two major life changes that brought her back to the page. Plus, how rejection of her first novel prepared her to write her second and how the YA sci-fi space helped her redefine what’s most valuable in life. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Olufunke Grace Bankole, author of The Edge of Water. The book began as a short story and Olufunke has been working to bring it to fruition as a novel for the last twenty years. 

In our conversation she discusses, how she received the gift of patience from an industry insider that relieved the pressure of publishing. Plus, how her love of social justice and her career as a lawyer put her on the path to becoming a writer. And, how her story of a first generation, African woman, with dreams bigger than herself is really a manifestation of her own name and path through life as a writer. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Jodi M. Savage, author of the essay collection, Death of a Jaybird: Essays on Mothers and Daughters and the Things They Leave Behind.

It’s a collection that reckons with Jodi’s grief before and after the deaths of her mother and grandmother and how she found comfort in the space a blank page provided. In our conversation, she discusses how she processed her life in real time and turned it into a book. Why she believes forgiveness and grief go hand in hand and how she let go of the concern about not having enough social media followers… and why those numbers really don’t matter. 

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This week, Nikesha speaks with Donna Hill, the newly named executive director of The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, right in the heart of Brooklyn. 

Today, as in Thursday March 27, 2025, kicks off the center’s signature event, the National Black Writer’s Conference. This year is their two-day biennial symposium highlighting middle grade and young adult fiction. Tickets are free for seniors and for anyone else the cost is $30 or less.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Aaliyah Bilal, author of the short-story collection Temple Folk. The collection is made up of ten short stories about Black Americans who identify as Muslim and who were at one time members of the Nation of Islam. 

In our conversation, Aaliyah explains why "normalcy" is the main message she wants readers to take away from her collection. Plus, the reason she believes borrowing details from her personal life is beneath the craft of fiction. And how she taught herself to write in an ultimate period of autodidactic self-study that lasted 15 years.

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Jamila Minnicks, author of the novel, Moonrise Over New Jessup. It's a book written about a small, Black, Alabama enclave in the 1950s facing pressure to integrate despite resistance from the town’s male leaders and the women who make their work possible. 

A native of Alabama, Jamila says she sees her writing as an extension of her work as an advocate. The reason she believes her novel is a way to jumpstart the conversation on what community and fellowship really mean. Plus, the pushback she gets from some readers who bought into the belief of white supremacy or the failed sales pitch of integration. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Laysha Ward author of the leadership book, Lead Like You Mean It: Lessons on Integrity and Purpose from the C-Suite. 

Laysha spent more than 30 years in corporate America, most of that time at Target. Our conversation took place before Target announced their roll back of DEI initiatives but we still discuss how her background as a Black girl from rural Indiana helped her find gold in her roots to unlock her superpowers. Why she believes it’s important to have a holistic approach to leadership and well-being. And the lessons she learned from Mrs. Coretta Scott King that helped her successfully navigate her professional and personal life. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Bernice L. McFadden, the author of several award winning historical fiction novels. She’s out today with her memoir, First Born Girls, a book that weaves the story of her road to publication with her debut novel Sugar, with the story of the women in her family and what they endured. 

In honoring her family through the pages of First Born Girls, Bernice coined a new word. In our conversation, she explains how she came to call her departed loved ones “angelcestors” and what it means  to be loved, guided, and protected by them. Plus, the reason she says she learned the most about the publishing industry in the time she was dropped from a major publisher and went indie. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with National Book Award Finalist and Corretta Scott King Award Winner, Amber McBride, about her latest novel, Onyx and Beyond. The novel tells the story of 12-year-old Onyx who’s growing up in the DMV area in the tulmutuous times of the late 60s and early 70s. There’s assassinations and moon landings happening in the world, while at home Onyx’s mother is slowly succumbing to early onset dementia. And Onyx, a dreamer and lover of magic believes he must be the one to save her.

In our conversation, Amber explains how this novel has finally given her both personal and professional freedom after overcoming significant challenges in the early days of her writing and publishing career. She explains, how she keeps stretching herself as a writer to level up and never fit in a box. And, the spiritual practices she believes helps her characters arrive fully formed in her mind. 

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This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with author and MacArthur genius Jason Reynolds about his YA romance novel, Twenty-four Seconds from Now: A Love Story. The novel explores the budding relationship between Neon and Aria. High school seniors who’ve been together for two years and are both ready to take their relationship to the next level of love and intimacy.

In our conversation, Jason explains how writing this novel is part of his constant quest to challenge his craft and dedicate his life to art. Plus, why he pays so much attention to life’s small moments, and what he finds worthy in 18 month increments. And, why he believes the love of a friend is the closest we can get to the love of God. 

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