Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on p…
Sister Souljah (born Lisa Williamson) was born in 1964 in New York City. She attended Cornell University's advanced placement summer program and Spain's University of Salamanca study-abroad program. S…
Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award,…
Beatrice Sparks was an American therapist and Mormon youth counselor who was known for producing books purporting to be the 'real diaries' of troubled teenagers. The books deal with topical issues suc…
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a successful film actor and a promi…
Tia Williams began her career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty blog industry with her award-winning site, Sh…
ASHLEY ANTOINETTE COLEMAN is one of the most successful female writers of her time. The feminine half of the popular married duo, Ashley and JaQuavis, she has co-written over 40 novels, including the …
Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author. She is the coauthor of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES series, which has been published in 51 countries and 37 languages, w…
Renée Watson is the author of the children’s picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, June 2010), which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel…
Nic Stone was born and raised in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and the only thing she loves more than an adventure is a good story about one. After graduating from Spelman College, she worked extensively i…
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Maga…
Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times Bestselling author of YA novels including the Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated A…
John Schu is the creator of the popular blog Mr. Schu Reads (mrschureads.blogspot.com), was the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, an…
Claire Swinarski is the author of multiple books for both kids and adults. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Seventeen, Milwaukee Magazine, and many other publications. She lives i…
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jade Adia writes stories about Black nerds, anti-capitalism, and home. She is an English teacher at a middle and high school where her students graciously keep her grou…
Kimberly Brown is a South Carolina born and raised author of contemporary/urban romance. She strives to create stories that readers can visualize in their heads as the pages turn. Writing has been a p…
