Race

Chris Abani

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Nigerian-born Poet
PEN Freedom to Write

Samiya Bashir

Acclaimed Poet
Field Theories
Finalist Lambda Lit Award
Mixed Media Readings

Jericho Brown

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
Nat'l Book Award Finalist
The Tradition

Mahogany L. Browne

Poet, Performer & Organizer
YA & Children's Author
Black Girl Magic

Gabriel Bump

Acclaimed Novelist
Everywhere You Don't Belong

Tina Chang

Acclaimed American Poet
Brooklyn Poet Laureate
Literacy & Education
Race, Culture, Identity

Kwame Dawes

Ghana-born Jamaican Poet
Novelist and Essayist
Emmy: LiveHopeLove
Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius

Bryan Doerries

Social Impact Theater
Graphic: The Odyssey of...
Translator of Ancient Greek
FYE: The Theater of War

Percival Everett

Acclaimed Novelist
Dos Passos Prize
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award

Nathalie Handal

Poet & Playwright
Nonfiction & Travel Writer
Dislocation, Home & Exile
Arab American Book Award

Terrance Hayes

Distinguished Poet
MacArthur "Genius" Award
National Book Award
Visual Artist

Major Jackson

Acclaimed Poet
NBCCA Finalist
NAACP Image Finalist
Poems: Roll Deep

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Acclaimed Writer
Nat'l Book Award Finalist
NAACP Image Finalist

Douglas Kearney

Acclaimed Poet
Mixed Media Readings
CLMP Firecracker Award
Race, Culture & Identity

Dawn Lundy Martin

Poet, Critic, Essayist
Video Artist & Performer
Kingsley Tufts Award
LAMBDA Literary Award

Rajiv Mohabir

Indo-Carribbean Author
Award-winning Poet
Essayist & Translator
LGBTQ Issues

Ladan Osman

Somali-born Poet
Essays on Race
Issues of Immigration
Gender & Displacement

Patrick Phillips

Poet & Nonfiction Writer
Nat'l Book Award Finalist
Award-winning Translator
FYE: Blood at the Root

Deesha Philyaw

Acclaimed Writer
Nat'l Book Award Finalist
Black Queer Intersectionality

Claudia Rankine

Poet & Playwright
NYT Nonfiction Bestseller
NBCCA & Forward Prize
FYE: Citizen

Sapphire

Bestselling Novelist
Performance Poet
Social Justice Activist
FYE: Push | Film: Precious

Tim Seibles

Acclaimed Poet
Nat'l Book Award Finalist
Race Relations
Virginia Poet Laureate

Michael Thomas

Novelist & Memoirist
IMPAC Dublin Award
Novel: Man Gone Down
Memoir: The Broken King

Natasha Trethewey

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
United States Poet Laureate (2012-2014)
FYE: Native Guard

Crystal Valentine

Poet, Educator & Activist
Nat’l Poetry Slam Finalist
Queer Intersectionality
NYC Youth Poet Laureate

Tamara Winfrey-Harris

Acclaimed Writer