Although Sandra Belton is the author of eleven books, she didn’t always want to be an author. She did, however, always want to be a storyteller—and story is certainly at the heart of Belton’s fiction. Belton grew up in West Virginia, and after graduating from Howard University, she went into teaching. This path eventually let [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days
Shadra Strickland
The title of her blog says it all: LIVING THE DREAM. A dream born many years ago, when she was just a child. A dream nourished by a supportive mother. A dream guided through instruction at Syracuse University. Polished at the School of Visual Arts. But Shadra Strickland’s dream didn’t end there. Soon after graduation, [ Read the full article… ]
Yasmin Shiraz
Yasmin Shiraz is nothing if not busy. Lucky for young readers, she’s found time in her career to make addressing their needs a priority. The author of the Blueprint for my Girls books, Shiraz is a motivator whose goal is to emower and enlighten teens. I talk to the author about her YA debut, Retaliation. [ Read the full article… ]
Bernette Ford
Even with more than a dozen books to her credit, Bernette Ford finds it tough to think of herself as an author. She’s an editor, a mentor, a wife, a mother. But an author? She doesn’t easily claim that title as her own. But that’s just how many children and parents around the world know her best. They see her name on books [ Read the full article… ]
Dwayne Ferguson
Today, The Brown Bookshelf brings you Renaissance Man and superhero Dwayne Ferguson, who also goes by the name Hunter Wolf (more on that later). Creator of the Kid Caramel chapter book series from Just Us Books, and much, much more, he’s created artwork for Walt Disney, Sony Music, Warner Bros., Mutant League, Mighty Morphin’ Power [ Read the full article… ]
Natasha Tarpley
At the age of seven, Natasha Anastasia Tarpley began to write alongside her aspiring writer-mother. While a sophomore in high school, the Chicago native began to gather publication credits for her poetry. At Harvard University, Tarpley enrolled in her first writing workshop…long after a love of the written word was already in her blood. As a [ Read the full article… ]
Sharon G Flake
Sharon G. Flake has been a force in writing for children and young adults since 1998, when her first novel, The Skin I’m In, was published by editor Andrea Davis Pinkney at Disney-Hyperion’s Jump at the Sun Imprint. The novel was peppered with accolades, including being named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s [ Read the full article… ]
Kekla Magoon
Kekla Magoon had long been a student of the Civil Rights Movement. She devoured stories about that period and believed deeply in non-violence. What would she have done back then? Kekla didn’t have to wonder. She knew: She would have stood alongside foot soldiers in battlegrounds across the South. But one day, Kekla learned about the Black Panthers’ work as community organizers. [ Read the full article… ]