This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with author, Deesha Philyaw , her short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies , which was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award.
This bonus episode of Black & Published features an episode of the Reed, Write and Create podcast hosted by award-winning author and creative writing coach, Lori L. Tharps. On the podcast, Lori offers bite-sized sessions of creative writing coaching based on the lives and times of our BIPOC literary ancestors, and she interviews successful BIPOC authors who share their stories and strategies for a productive and prolific literary life. This episode features her conversation with author Ibi Z...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Arionne Nettles , author of the book, We Are The Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything . A university lecturer at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism as well as a culture reporter, Arionne's book is as much a love letter to her city as it is putting the world on notice… that Chicago is the epicenter for all things culture and cool… with receipts. In our conversation, Arionne explains why writing this book was r...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Julian Randall author of the essay collection The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi and Black TV Nerd Shit . Julian, who is also the author of the Cave Canem poetry prize winning collection, Refuse , got their start as a slam poet. In making the transition from the stage to the page they say talking to themselves instead of an audience was difficult. In our conversation, Julian discusses how they use pop cultur...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Maura Cheecks , author of Acts of Forgiveness . The book is an outgrowth of her 2019 article, for the Atlantic, “American Wealth is Broken” which explores the necessity of reparations for Black families. Maura was awarded the 2019 Masthead Reporting Residency for The Atlantic ’s first residency program where she worked on that article. In our conversation Maura explains why she turned to fiction to address the very real critics of the long...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Melissa Mogollon, author of the novel, OYE . A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Melissa is originally from Colombia and was raised in Florida. She now teaches at a boarding school in Rhode Island, where she lives with her partner and dog. In our conversation, Melissa explains the feedback she received for her experimental form and why she refused to change it. Plus, how an obsession with beauty is really a fight for autonomy and pow...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with New York Times Bestselling author Tomi Adeyemi , author of The Children of Anguish and Anarchy , the final installment in the Legacy of Orisha series. As a Nigerian American who came of age in a mostly white community, Tomi says her writing grew out of reckoning with her own internalized self-hatred. In our conversation, she explains how writing herself seen is an act of rebellion and revenge to Hunger Games haters. Plus, how she’s helped ...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Riss M. Neilson , author of the romance novel, A Love Like The Sun . A graduate of the Rhode Island College, Riss won the English department’s Jean Garrigue Award, which was judged by novelist, Nick White. Her debut young adult novel, Deep in Providence , was a 2022 finalist for the New England Book Awards. In our conversation, Riss explains how she healed herself by writing her own characters. The reason she refuses to stick to one genre ...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Shenequa Golding , author of the essay collection A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring it All Out . Shenequa’s collection is the culmination of what happened after her essay about being Black in the workplace after George Floyd’s murder went viral. So viral, Amazon founder and billionaire, Jeff Bezos, reposted it. In our conversation, Shenequa explains why she never thought a book deal was within her reach even though...
This week on Black & Published we're introducing you to a new show that we love, Reckon True Stories hosted by acclaimed authors Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon. Guests for Season One include writers Roxane Gay , Imani Perry , Alexander Chee , Minda Honey , Hanif Abdurraqib , and Samantha Irby . Reckon True Stories is a celebration of new and classic nonfiction – the essays, journalism, and memoirs that inspire us, that change the world, and help us connect with each other. Show credits: Hos...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Walela Nehanda , author of, Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir . As a Black, non-binary, disability justice advocate and stem-cell transplant survivor, Walela's book is an outgrowth of their time and work as a slam poet. In our conversation, Walela, explains why even though their publishing journey may seem like a Cinderella story, they definitely put in their 10,000 hours. The moment they fell in love with poetry. And why their therapist sa...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with the authors and illustrators of the children's picture book, The Last Stand . Written by Antwan Eady and illustrated by the brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey , The Last Stand is a book that honors the legacy and sacrifices of Black farmers by focusing on the joy found in community. In our conversation, Antwan, Jarrett, and Jerome discuss how they got out of their own way and made sure to write books they enjoy. Plus, why there was a 20 ...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Avery Cunningham , author of the novel, The Mayor of Maxwell Street . Avery is a resident of Memphis, TN, and a 2016 graduate of DePaul University’s Master of Arts Writing & Publishing program. She has over a decade of editorial experience with various literary magazines, small presses, and best-selling authors. In our conversation, Avery discusses how writing about Chicago at the turn of the 20th century was really an opportunity to w...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Donna Hemans , author of the novel, The House of Plain Truth . Born in Jamaica and currently residing in the DMV area, Donna is the author of the novels River Woman and Tea by the Sea . Works that all center the Caribbean experience. In our conversation, Donna discusses the book that made her want to be a writer. Plus, the lesson she learned about writing the story you want to tell no matter the pressures of the publishing industry. And wh...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Crystal Wilkinson , author of the cookbook memoir, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts . A poet, a novelist, and an essayist, Wilkinson is a recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Poetry and was recently named a 2024 Writing Freedom Fellow. In our conversation, we discuss why she says she’s never writing solely for publication. How she’s haunted by her own artistic impulses and how she squares being a radical feminist with her dee...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Maya Golden , author of the memoir, The Return Trip . Maya is the founder of the 1 in 3 foundation which provides recovery tools and support for survivors of sexual abuse. An organization she started after she went on her own road to healing through body based therapy that helped her overcome her trauma and sex addiction. In our conversation, we discuss how Maya initially planned to pen her memoir as a fictional story. How she’s learning t...
This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Dr. Jenn M. Jackson , author of the book, Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism . Dr. Jackson (they/them) is a genderflux androgynous Black woman, a lesbian, an abolitionist, and a lover of all Black people, They are an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University in the Department of Political Science where their primary research is in Black Politics with a focus on racial threat and trauma, gender and sexuality, polit...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speak with Ashton Lattimore , author of the historical novel, All We Were Promised . The novel that follows three young Black women in 19th century Philadelphia. One is born free. One is enslaved. And the third is free-ish: she self-emancipated with her father who’s maintaining their liberation by passing for white. Ashton is the Editor-in-Chief of the non-profit news outlet, Prism . A position she came to after realizing she did not enjoy her career ...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Vanessa Riley , author of the historical fiction romance novel, Queen of Exiles . An engineer and self-proclaimed math nerd, Vanessa applies her inventive and analytical mindset to her creative writing. Her historical novels showcase the hidden histories of Black women and women of color, emphasizing strong sisterhoods and dazzling multicultural communities. In our conversation, Vanessa outlines the two engineering questions she always ask...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Juliana Lamy , author of the short story collection, You Were Watching From the Sand . A Haitian writer, Juliana says her collection is preoccupied with what it means to be Haitian and the honesty of that lived experience. In our conversation, Juliana, who is a graduate of Harvard and the Iowa Writers Workshop, explains how she creates rhythm and lyricism that translates into English as well as Haitian Kreyol. Plus, the reason she says she...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Shannon Sanders , author of the short story collection, Company . A lawyer by trade, Shannon came to crafting her award-winning collection after attending several writing workshops and having to produce on a deadline. In our conversation, Shannon explains why she thinks about what's enjoyable for her reader as she's creating new work. Plus, what she believes it means to leave an inheritance and legacy in the Black community. And, how eaves...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Rudy Francisco , author of the poetry collection, Excuse Me As I Kiss the Sky . Rudy is a renowned spoken word artist who has published two previous collections: Helium (2017) and I'll Fly Away (2020). As a spoken word artist, Rudy said taking his work from the stage to the page allowed him to grow and write about more than one topic. In our conversation, Rudy explains how he tries to show the accuracy of his humanity instead of a balance ...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Roberto Carlos Garcia , author of the poetry anthology, What Can I Tell You . Roberto is the author of three previous poetry collections Elegies , black / Maybe: An Afro Lyric , and Melancolía . In our conversation, Roberto discusses unlearning the ways in which colonialism have infected the mind. How anti-Blackness begins at home in some Afro-Latin communities, and the reason he believes spoken word is poetry in its purest form. Support t...
This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Tracey Rose Peyton , author of the novel, Night Wherever We Go . The novel follows the lives of six enslaved women on a struggling plantation in Texas. When their owners The Lucy's, nicknamed after Lucifer himself, come up with a plan to increase their prosperity through reproduction, the women refuse despite the consequences of such open rebellion. In our conversation, Tracey discusses the years she spent researching the novel as well as ...
This week on Black & Published Nikesha speaks with Kim Johnson , author of the YA novel, Invisible Son . The book is set in Oregon during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. A setting Kim chose to bear witness to all that was happening while also balancing the trauma of that year with its triumphs as well. In our conversation, Kim readily admits that she came to writing late in life. She explains the feeling of being woken up out of her sleep to pursue a dream she never knew she had. P...
This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Jennifer Baker , author of the YA novel, Forgive Me Not . The story centers the life, loves and struggles of a teenaged Black girl to explore the pitfalls and failures of mass incarceration and carceral systems. In our conversation, Jennifer opens up about how she stayed motivated to continue writing while working for some twenty years in the publishing industry. Plus, the reality show that sparked the idea for her novel, and the reason she ...
This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Lamya H , author of the memoir, Hijab Butch Blues . The book is an in depth extension of the personal essays Lamya has penned for years. Their writing has appeared in Vice, Salon, Vox, Black Girl Dangerous, Autostraddle, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. They are a former Lambda Literary Fellow and currently live in New York with their partner. In our conversation, Lamya explains how they've carved out a life that works for them despite t...
This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with K E Garland , author of the memoir, In Search of a Salve: Memoir of a Sex Addict . K E Garland is an award-winning creative nonfiction writer and blogger who uses personal essays and memoir to de-marginalize women's experiences with an intent to highlight and humanize contemporary issues including adoption and addiction. In our conversation, K E discusses how she confronted the truth with her loved ones especially her husband, as well as how...
This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Kim Coleman Foote , author of the biomthyography novel, Coleman Hill . The novel draws from Kim's own family legend, historical record, and fervent imagination to create an unforgettable new history. In our conversation, Kim discusses how she came to tell the story of her family while she was working on another novel. Plus, how she got over her own jealousy of other writers whose books were published before her. And, what it feels like to li...
This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Liv Little , author of the novel, Rosewater . A writer of Jamaican and Guyanese descent living in South London, Liv tells stories about the people and places that matter to her; specifically the Black, queer, femme community. In our conversation, Liv discusses why she was dedicated to illustrating the ways Black, queer and femme communities show up and support one another. She also explains why it was important to explore the roots of homoph...
