Chris Abani

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Nigerian-born Poet

Samiya Bashir

Acclaimed Poet
Finalist Lambda Lit Award

Jericho Brown

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
The Tradition

Mahogany L. Browne

Poet, Performer & Organizer
Black Girl Magic

Kwame Dawes

Ghana-born Jamaican Poet
Novelist and Essayist

Natashia Deón

Acclaimed Novelist
Immigration Attorney

Camille Dungy

Award-winning Poet
Acclaimed Essayist & Critic

Cornelius Eady

Poet, Lyricist, Playwright
Co-Founder of Cave Canem

Percival Everett

Acclaimed Novelist
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award

Aminatta Forna

Award-winning Novelist
Acclaimed Memoirist

Saidiya Hartman

MacArthur “Genius” Award
Distinguished Literary Scholar

Terrance Hayes

MacArthur "Genius" Award
National Book Award

Major Jackson

Acclaimed Poet
Roll Deep

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Award-winning Poet

Douglas Kearney

Acclaimed Poet
Race, Culture & Identity

Dawn Lundy Martin

Poet, Critic, Memoirist
Kingsley Tufts Award

Airea D. Matthews

Award-winning Poet
Race, Culture & Identity

Marilyn Nelson

Poet-as-Historian
Frost Poetry Prize

Ladan Osman

Somali-born Poet
Gender & Displacement

Patrick Phillips

Poet & Nonfiction Writer
Blood at the Root

Deesha Philyaw

Acclaimed Writer
Black Queer Intersectionality

Claudia Rankine

NYT Bestselling Author
NBCCA & Forward Prize

Sapphire

Bestselling Novelist
Performance Poet

Tim Seibles

Acclaimed Poet
Nat'l Book Award Finalist

Michael Thomas

Novelist & Memoirist
IMPAC Dublin Award

Natasha Trethewey

US Poet Laureate (2012-2014)
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet

Crystal Valentine

Poet, Educator & Activist
Nat’l Poetry Slam Finalist