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This episode features our conversation with Arriel Vinson, which was live-streamed on May 24, 2025. We chatted about her debut young adult (YA) novel in verse, Under the Neon Lights (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, June 3. 2025).

Arriel Vinson is a Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and Midwesterner who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. She earned her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in Kweli Journal, Catapult, The Rumpus, Waxwing, and others. Arriel is a Tin House YA Scholar, Highlights Foundation scholarship recipient, and 2020 Walter Grant recipient.

In this sparkling and heartfelt debut YA novel in verse, a young Black girl discovers first love, self-worth, and the power of a good skate. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Joya Goffney.

You can connect with her on social media at @arriwrites and find her work at arriwrites.com.

Purchase your copy of Under the Neon Lights via Black Writers Read's Bookshop link to support both the podcast and independent bookstores! CLICK HERE

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This episode features our conversation with Laura Pegram, founding editor of The Kweli Journal, to chat about Sing the Truth: The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection, an anthology published in celebration of their 15th anniversary, which was live-streamed on May 17, 2025.

Hailed as “The Paris Review of BIPOC literature,” The Kweli Journal has been a launching pad for many of today’s most celebrated writers. Kweli—“truth” in Swahili—marks its fifteenth anniversary with this luminous collection edited by founder Laura Pegram. These vivid narratives explore the devastation of leaving home and the struggle to adapt to reimagined lives, lost loves, distant families, and buried pasts, deepening our understanding of the human experience.

Featuring works from acclaimed authors Naima Coster, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Daphne Palasi Andreades, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and others, with a foreword by Edwidge Danticat, this anthology stands as a testament to voices too often overlooked in contemporary literature. Readers will encounter narratives that explore memory, identity, culture, and the ways in which words transcend language to become instruments of power and resilience. In the evocative words of the anthology: “So come, sit with us on the bank and listen to our music.”

Kweli means “truth” in Swahili. Under the direction of founding editor, Laura Pegram since 2009, the Kweli Journal’s mission is to nurture emerging BIPOC writers that “sing the truth”. With a quarterly online literary journal, year-long writer fellowships, multi-session workshops, writing retreats, individualized editing, an annual writers’ conference and international festival, Kweli invests in the artistic and professional growth of emerging authors, nationally and internationally. Kweli Journal continues to contribute to a world where the narratives being told reflect the truth of our histories and the possibilities of our future.

To learn more about the Kweli Journal, please visit their website at kwelijournal.org. To purchase your copy of Sing the Truth, please visit https://bookshop.org/shop/blackwritersread. By purchasing your books via this Bookshop link, you’re supporting Independent booksellers and Black Writers Read.

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This episode features our conversation with Eden Royce (Southern Gothic.), which was live-streamed on May 3, 2025.

Eden Royce is a writer from Charleston, South Carolina now living in Southeast England. She is a Shirley Jackson Award finalist and a Bram Stoker Award nominee for her adult short fiction, which has appeared in various print and online magazines. Her debut middle-grade novel, ROOT MAGIC is a Walter Award Honoree, a Nebula Award finalist, a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner, and an Ignyte award winner for outstanding children’s literature. Her third middle-grade novel, THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE, is a Walter Award Honoree, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and a Bram Stoker Award Nominee. She loves tea, coffee, bookstores, and roller skating – not always in that order.

During this episode, Eden read from her short story, "For Southern Girls When the Zodiac Ain't Near Enough" originally published in Apex Magazine issue #111 in 2018. We also had an opportunity to chat about her middle grade fiction novels including ROOT MAGIC and THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE along with her forthcoming adult novella, PSYCHOPOMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE which is scheduled for release later this year in October. Pre-order your copy of PSYCHOPOMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE TODAY!

Congratulations to Eden for THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE being nominated for an Ignyte Award in the Outstanding Middle Grade category and HOLLOW TONGUE for being nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award!

To learn more about Eden and her body of work, please visit edenroyce.com.

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This episode features our conversation with Essie Chambers, which was live-streamed on April 22, 2025.

Essie Chambers is an award-winning author and producer. Her debut novel, Swift River—a Today Show “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick—won the 2024 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize and was named a best book of the year by The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, Elle, and others. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award, The Libby Awards, the New England Book Awards and the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year. She received an Honor Fiction award from The Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

Essie started her career as a television executive at Nickelodeon/The N and BET before becoming an independent producer and filmmaker. She went on to produce the critically acclaimed PBS documentary, The New Public, and the Sundance Award–winning, Oscar-shortlisted documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022.

She earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell, the Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she’s about to get started on book #2.

During our conversation, we talked about Swift River.

Learn more about Essie and her body of work: https://essiechambers.com/

During the episode, I reference an interview between Harriette Cole and Essie Chambers. Watch this interview here: Dreamleapers with Harriette Cole

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This episode features our conversation with Brother’s Keeper Poetry Theater Ensemble, which was live-streamed on April 12, 2025.

Since 2013, Brother’s Keeper Poetry Theater Ensemble has been a beacon of hope and transformation, weaving together words, emotions, and stories to create powerful theatrical performances that resonate deeply with their audiences. The group blends elements of poetry, spoken word, theatre and music to create a unique performance which is not only entertaining and educational, but also soulful.

Passionate about fostering diversity and social change, Brother's Keeper has taken their craft into diverse spaces, performing at city halls, job corps programs, corporate offices seeking to enhance their DEI initiatives, and young adult substance abuse centers. With every stage they grace, they aim to spark dialogue, challenge perceptions, and encourage healing through the transformative power of art. Brother's Keeper has received citations of merit from the City Hall in the cities of: East Providence, Providence and Pawtucket Rhode Island.

Check out their newly released spoken word album, Father Figures, now available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon Music, and YouTube.

This episode of Black Writers Read is presented in collaboration with the Florence Poetry Carnival.

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This episode features our conversation with Nzima Hutchings (poetry. prose.), the 2023-2025 Poet Laureate for Enfield, Connecticut, which was livestreamed on April 7, 2025 to kick-off National Poetry Month.

An award-winning author, editor, educator, and workshop facilitator, Nzima Hutchings has worked with various organizations including Trinity Health of New England, Saint Francis Hospital Family Advocacy Center, Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Asnuntuck Community College, Long Wharf Theatre, Nuyorican Poets Café, Our Piece of the Pie, Massachusetts Women of Color, and Mount Holyoke College. Nzima serves on several boards of directors including for the Enfield Cultural Art Commissions, Ujima African American, and A Queen’s Narrative. She is the curator and host of Nzima's Poetry Café Show. show on Cox Public Access Studios which airs in Connecticut and Longmeadow, Massachusetts. She is also a co-founder off Hartford's L.I.T. with T'challa Williams who was interviewed on the podcast back in February of 2025. Nzima is a contributor to Heavy is the Crown, an anthology published by A Queen's Narrative - I served as the editor and Nzima read an excerpt of her poem during the bonus episode announcing the book.

To purchase books written by Nzima, visit her Amazon link here.

To listen to the bonus episode on the Heavy is the Crown anthology: Apple Podcasts; Spotify

Find Nzima on Instagram: @follownzima

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This episode features our conversation with contemporary romance author, Reese Ryan, which was live-streamed on March 23, 2025.

Award-winning author Reese Ryan writes sexy, emotional, “grown folks” romantic fiction. Her characters find love while navigating career crises and family drama. The two-time recipient of the Donna Hill Breakout Author Award is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction. Reese’s books have been featured on Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, and BookRiot.

Our chat centered around The Love & Music Suite which includes Spin the Block, Never the Right Time, and More Than Friends. The fourth book of the series, When It Comes to You, is due for release this summer on June 20.

The Love & Music Series follows the music industry celebrity alumni of Peachtree School of the Arts in Atlanta as they reconnect to save their old school. Friendships are formed and love connections are re-ignited as they navigate the industry and take their careers to new heights.

To learn more about Reese and her work, please visit reeseryan.com.

During our conversation, we also talked about the Black Romance Book Fest. Learn more about this event by visiting https://blackromancebookfest.com/.

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This episode features our conversation with nonfiction, business, and Christian Self-Help author, LaTanya Orr, which was live-streamed on March 15, 2025.

Brand strategist, certified life coach and visual storyteller, LaTanya Orr, strategically equips entrepreneurs, corporate executives and ministry leaders with award-winning concepts that showcase their brand brilliance with intention and maximum impact. With over two decades in marketing, public relations, and design, LaTanya shapes brand identities through creative strategies and impactful design. As the author of Strike A Pose: 7 Red Carpet Strategies Every Entrepreneurial Woman Must Have, she empowers career women to excel. Her upcoming book, FoundHER, Finding Me: How a Shift in Focus Reveals Your Extraordinary, guides women to thrive at the highest levels. Regarded as an “Entrepreneurial Midwife”, LaTanya fosters disruption in women's business through her Chicago-based, women's entrepreneurial network, The FoundHERS Suite. LaTanya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from Davenport University.

To learn more about LaTanya and her work, please visit www.thefoundherssuite.com.

During the introduction, I mentioned the name of Michelle May, the amazing creative professionals' coach that brought LaTanya and I together. Michelle has helped me to amplify my brand as a creative professional and to streamline my workflow. To learn more about her and her services, visit https://www.ammayassociates.com/coachingmichelle.

Find LaTanya on Instagram: @latanyaorr

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