Black Writers Read

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A companion podcast to our award-winning series, Black Writers Read, Recasting the Culture highlights the work of BIPOC innovators and other co-conspirators, offering an inside look into the practice and process of writers, musicians, visual artists, curators, community leaders, and educators whose work challenges conventions, re/defines culture, and promotes social transformation. 

This episode features my conversation with Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian jazz musician, saxophonist, and composer, Felipe Salles.

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Felipe Salles has been an active musician in the US since 1995. He is a recipient of a 2018 Guggenheim Foundation Composition Fellowship, a 2021 South Arts Jazz Road Creative Residency Grant Fellowship recipient, a 2015 and 2023 NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant winner, a 2009-2010 winner of the French American Jazz Exchange Grant, and a 2005-2006 winner of the Chamber Music America New Works: Creation and Presentation Grant Program, grants sponsored by The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. He was awarded First Place in the 2001 Concurso SGAE de Jazz "TETE MONTOLIU", 2001, with his composition The Return of The Chromo Sapiens.

Salles has released twelve critically acclaimed recordings as a leader.

His newest recording, Camera Obscura, featuring his quartet, a string quartet and a woodwind sextet, was released on the Tapestry label on June 6, 2025 to critical acclaim. A Deriva (Adrift translated in English), which is featured on A Deriva, is nominated for a 2026 Latin Grammy for Best Arranging.

Felipe Salles has a Master’s and a Graduate Diploma in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory, and a Doctorate in Jazz Arts Advancement from Manhattan School of Music. He is a Professor of Jazz and African American Music Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he has taught since 2010.

To learn more about Dr. Salles’ expansive body of work, please visit sallesjazz.com.

Watch The New Immigrant Experience on YouTube

Hear the Latin Grammy-nominated song for Best Arranging, A Deriva (Adrift)

Watch "Using Poetry to Inspire Composition" - hear Felipe talk about writing music for A Deriva

Find Felipe Salles on Instagram: @sallesjazz

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This episode features our conversation with Desiree Cooper, which was live-streamed on September 8, 2026.

Desiree Cooper is a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow, Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, former attorney, and editor of the groundbreaking 2026 anthology, Black Summers: Growing up in the Urban Outdoors. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, MSNBC Daily, Flash Fiction America 2023, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Rumpus, River Teeth, and noted in The Best American Essays 2019. Cooper is the author of the award-winning flash fiction collection, Know the Mother. Her children’s picture book, Nothing Special, is a 2023 Paterson Prizewinner and one of the New York Public Library’s “10 Best Children’s Books of 2022.”

During this episode, we talked about Black Summers: Growing Up in the Urban Outdoors (Wayne State University Press, 2026), an anthology edited by Desiree Cooper.

Remember frolicking outside during the long, jubilant days of summer? This vibrant collection invites readers to breathe deeply and return to that "carefree" season. From riding bikes with friends through the neighborhood, to hopping the ferry to Boblo Island, catching catfish along the river, dancing on warm nights to Afrobeats and jazz music, and cooling off in the Swimmobile, those sun-drenched memories were often clouded by racism for the Detroiters in this evocative anthology. These emerging and award-winning creators of all ages recount the struggles and triumphs of staking their claim to public spaces. Ranging from poetry to essay, creative nonfiction to comics, this collection blends nostalgia with struggle and resilience. Arising from the iconic city of the African American experience comes this exploration of Black joy in the urban outdoors. 

To learn more about Desiree, her work and this anthology, please visit descooper.com. 

Check out Desiree's last visit with us to chat about her children's book, Nothing Special.

Find Desiree on IG: @descooper

Find Black Summers on IG: @blacksummersbook

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Welcome to Season Seven! Check out this trailer to get a sneak peek of the upcoming season.

Black Writers Read showcases, celebrates, and elevates the words, work, and traditions of the African Diaspora. Launched on Juneteenth in 2020, we've hosted over 100 authors representing over 20 genres from six countries and 28 states.

Lucky #7! This season, we're focusing on the work of public intellectuals. As Nicole embarks on her first year as a tenure-track professor at a community college, she has invited colleagues from across higher education from various types of institutions, including Research I, community colleges, and teaching institutions, to talk about books that melt the divide between the Ivory Tower, community activism, legislation, and social change.

On October 17, 2026, National Black Poetry Day, Nicole will be live-streaming two episodes on YouTube that will feature authors who write about Black women's experiences with endometriosis. *In the trailer, Nicole references the date as National Black Reading Day, which is actually February 14.

Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread

Find Nicole on Instagram: @coco_penexplore

Subscribe to Black Writers Read Substack: https://substack.com/@blackwritersread 

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Thanks again for your support and see you on the other side!

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This episode features our conversation with Dr. Rachel Laryea, which was live-streamed on June 26, 2026.

Dr. Rachel Laryea is a thought leader who specializes in race and money, ethical entrepreneurship, and social good. After cutting her teeth on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, she went on to receive her dual Ph.D. in African American Studies and Sociocultural Anthropology at Yale University. Her ethnographic research aims to understand nuanced forms of Black participation in capitalist economies.

Dr. Rachel is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Research Fellowship award, and she received an honorable mention from the Ford Foundation for her research. She has held Adjunct Professor appointments at NYU Stern Business School, and worked as a racial equity investment strategist and Asset Wealth Management researcher at JPMorgan Chase.

Dr. Rachel is the founder of Kelewele, a lifestyle brand based in Brooklyn, New York, that creates bespoke African travel experiences and vegan, plantain treats. Kelewele has partnered with The James Beard Foundation and Black Entertainment Television (BET), and has been featured in several global publications and media platforms, including The New York Times, Forbes, MarketWatch, and CBS. She is the recipient of the Ghana UK-Based Achievement (GUBA) award.

During this episode, we talked about Dr. Laryea’s book, Black Capitalists: The Blueprint For What Is Possible (Crown Publishing Group, 2025).

To many, the term “Black Capitalists” is oxymoronic. Black people were the labor force that built the infrastructure of American capitalism through the violent enforcement of legalized slavery, so they cannot, and should not, aspire to be the beneficiaries of it. But Wall Street professional and Yale-educated anthropologist Dr. Rachel Laryea poses a provocative question: What if there was a way to thrive within capitalism without diminishing someone else’s life chances through exploitative practices? There is—and Black Capitalists are showing us how. Told through Dr. Laryea's own compelling narrative—growing up the child of a single mother who immigrated to the United States from Ghana and rose to the Ivy League and on Wall Street—with original on-the-ground reporting and rigorous historical analysis, Black Capitalists challenges readers to reconsider who gets to be the beneficiary of capitalism and reckons with the responsibility that comes with using the tools of our imperfect economic system to advance social good. 

To learn more about Dr. Laryea and her work, please visit rachelllaryea.com. 

Purchase Black Capitalists from our Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/114101/9780593735046

Find Dr. Rachel Laryea on Instagram: @drlaryea

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This episode features our conversation with Nikesha Elise Williams, which was live-streamed on June 22, 2026.

Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer, an award-winning author, and the producer and host of the Black and Published podcast. A narrative strategist by day and journalist always, her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Bitter Southerner, Essence, and Vox. Nikesha’s work has been supported by the Kimbilio Fiction Fellowship, the DeGroot Foundation, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. A Chicago native, she lives in Florida with her family.

During this episode, we talked about her latest work, The Seven Daughters of Dupree (Gallery/Scout Press, 2026).

The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.

Learn more about Nikesha Elise Williams and her work by visiting https://www.newwrites.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Read the article, "The Spirit of American Beach" by Nikesha Elise Williams for The Bitter Southerner

Watch The Write Reasons interview with Nikesha Elise Williams and her editor, Alison Callahan

Purchase your copy of The Seven Daughters of Dupreee by Nikesha Elise Williams from our Bookshop

Find Nikesha on Instagram: @nikesha_elise

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This episode features our conversation with Jordan Clark, which was live-streamed on May 17, 2026.

Jordan Clark has been writing comics for over a decade, with work most recently being published by Ahoy Comics, DC Comics and past stories at IDW, Image Comics and Dynamite Comics. He was also selected as an inaugural member of the Milestone Initiative at DC Comics, which is geared towards uplifting a new generation of comic creators of color. He believes fiction has the power to imagine a better world and aims to tell stories that allow readers of color to imagine themselves in that better future.

During this episode, we talked about his latest work, Ancestral Recall.

When Melvin’s wife mysteriously disappears, he must call on the most important Black figures of all time to help him in his search. But the futuristic Modern Living Corporation has terrible plans for her. Ancestral Recall is a culturally rich exploration of present-day social commentary and Black History that incorporates multiple genres including historical fiction, Afrofuturism and Science Fiction. Published by AHOY Comics and released on April 14, 2026, Ancestral Recall was illustrated by Atagun Ilhan with color done by Pippa Bowland and letters done by Rob Steen.

Purchase a copy of Ancestral Recall from our Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/114101/9781952090448

Mentioned during the episode:

Check out Jordan's podcast, White People Won't Save You!

Find Jordan on Instagram: @jrsosa18

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Meet a very special person and power behind Black Writers Read, our Associate Producer, Candace DeLeon!

Candace DeLeon is an artist from Detroit based in New York City. She brings her talents and background in theater and administration to The Black Writers Read podcast as Associate Producer. 

Candace is an avid reader and has been writing since age 10. She has written plays, poetry, short stories and more. This year she plans to finish her debut novel, a work that's been in the works for a while, and enter the world of querying and publishing. 

Find Candace on Instagram: @subjective_adventures

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Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

Check out our Bookshop link to purchase books featured on the podcast: https://bookshop.org/shop/blackwritersread

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This episode features our conversation with Michelle McGill-Vargas, which was live-streamed on May 2, 2026.

Michelle McGill-Vargas writes speculative historical fiction, short stories, and flash fiction. Her work has appeared in Splickety Magazine, The Copperfield Review, and Typehouse Literary. She is a board member of the Midwest Writers Workshop and Historical Novel Society-North America. Michelle is also a writing coach for Writing Day Workshops. She currently resides in the Midwest with her family and furbabies. 

During this episode, we chatted about Michelle’s debut novel, American Ghoul (Blackstone Publishing, 2024).

"You can't kill someone who's already dead."

That's what Lavinia keeps telling her jailer after--allegedly--killing her mistress, Simone Arceneau. But how could Simone be dead when she was taking callers just a few minutes before? And why was her house always so dark?

Lavinia, a recently freed slave, met Simone, a recently undead vampire, by chance on a plantation in post-Civil War Georgia. With nothing remaining for either woman in the South, the two form a fast friendship and head north. However, Lavinia quickly learns that teaming up with this white woman may be more than she bargained for.

Simone is reckless and impulsive--which would've been bad enough on its own, but when combined with her particular diet, Lavinia finds herself in way over her head. As she is forced to repeatedly compromise her morals and struggles to make lasting human connections, Lavinia begins to wonder, is she truly free or has she merely exchanged one form of enslavement for another? As bodies start to pile up in the small Indiana town they've settled in, people start to take a second look at the two newcomers, and Simone and Lavinia's relationship is stretched to its breaking point.

A wildly entertaining debut from Michelle McGill-Vargas, American Ghoul deftly combines horror and social commentary—with a dash of buddy comedy—in an innovative twist on the vampire genre.

To learn more about Michelle and to purchase your copy of American Ghoul, please visit: michellemcgillvargas.com. 

Find Michelle on Instagram: @a_s_k_delta8

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This episode features our conversation with Johnzelle Anderson, which was live-streamed on April 19, 2026.

Johnzelle is a licensed therapist by trade, and believes in the power of storytelling to heal, imagine, disrupt, and inspire. His writing focuses on mental health, race, relationships, and identity.

He’s an avid reader and reads approximately 100 books annually.

He lives in Virginia with his daughter and an energetic Sheprador.

During this episode, we discussed Johnzelle’s debut memoir, Mixtape: A Memoir, which was released on March 17, 2026 by Atmosphere Press.

In Mixtape: A Memoir, therapist and storyteller Johnzelle Anderson weaves a raw, lyrical portrait of resilience, identity, and healing.

Born to a disengaged West African father and a volatile white mother, Anderson grows up mixed race in 1990s Roanoke, Virginia—feeling like an outsider in every room. Amid childhood abuse, neglect, and racism, he clings to the safety of his grandmother’s love and his inner voice’s promise of a better future.

Told in tracks rather than chapters, Mixtape charts Anderson’s journey from trauma to triumph—from being body-shamed and silenced to building a career in mental health and forming a family of his own. Along the way, he confronts the legacy of generational pain, redefines his sense of belonging, and takes a life-changing trip to Ghana in search of the roots his father never shared.

Honest, at times humorous, and unflinching in its vulnerability, Mixtape: A Memoir is a coming-of-age story for anyone unlearning and daring to rewrite the soundtrack of their life.

A story about the sound and silence of survival, and the rhythms that carry us home. Mixtape: A Memoir is available in hardcover, paperback, e-book and audiobook with Johnzelle narrating the audiobook. 

Learn more about Mixtape and to purchase your copy of the book, please visit: johnzelle.co. 

Mentioned during the episode:

Check out our interview with Emely Rumble, LICSW about her book, Bibliotherapy in the Bronx (S6 E12): Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

Find Johnzelle on Instagram: @johnzelle_

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Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

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This episode features our conversation with Amiya Phillips, which was live-streamed on April 13, 2026 during National Poetry Month.

Amiya Phillips is the author of the recently self-published poetry book "The Heart of the Mat", which showcases her wrestle with anxiety and how God's divine presence steps in. She has also had other pieces of her work included in the 2016 autumn publication of "A Celebration of Poets." Amiya is a native of Springfield, MA, and graduated from Worcester State University in December of 2021 with a degree in Psychology. She is currently working on obtaining her Master's of Social Work so she can work with diverse communities to improve their mental health.

Released in July of 2025, The Heart of the Mat is an unfiltered collection of Christian poems. It highlights the spiritual wrestling between anxiety and faith. Through soul-searching, heartfelt reflections, Amiya Phillips invites readers into her inner struggles, where weakness meets God's perfection. This book explores the emotional and spiritual connection we have with God. In wrestling, the center of the mat is where the real action happens. That’s where Amiya finds herself, face-to-face with anxiety, round after round. But she’s not alone. This book is a reminder that even in our most difficult battles, God is always near.

The Heart of the Mat provides:

• Affirmations about how God's love helps us to heal and conquer our challenges
• Praise breaks - uplifting scriptural verses and prayers
• A bonus interview with a Christian mental health therapist
• A reminder that God's faith will continue to "order our steps", regardless of the struggles we face

The Heart of the Mat is available for purchase on Amazon. 

Read more on Amiya Phillips in this article from Bold Journey.

Mentioned during this episode:

Olive Tree Books 'N Voices, a Black woman-owned bookstore based in Springfield, MA: https://olivetreebooksonline.com/

Check out our interview with Dr. Latoya Bosworth, who is also mentioned during this episode!

Find Olive Tree Books 'N Voices on Instagram: @olivetreebooksnvoices

Find Amiya Phillips on Instagram: @amiyaphillips.author

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Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

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