Black & Published

This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Iris Mwanza , author of the novel The Lion’s Den . It’s a thriller featuring a young lawyer fighting for justice in the case of a queer teen, that has her going up against  every oppressive system in Zambia from the President and police to her priest and the doctrine of the Catholic Church.  Iris is  Zambian-American. She...

This week on Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Palestinian-American poets, Fady Joudah and Lena Khalaf Tuffaha.  Fady is a physician, in addition to being a poet. His latest collection [ . . . ] chronicles the beginning of the genocide in Palestine in late 2023 and was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award in poetry. Lena is a poet, essayist and translator. She's also the co-founde...

This season on Black & Published . . . It’s time to get real about what writing can do. Whether we write about love or compassion, broken systems or the parallels between the past and the present; writing is active! It is both a portal and an archive. And while publishing is a business, the work on the page is still pure.  This season the journeys continue with: Jodi M. Savage, Amber...

In this bonus episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is sharing her story about becoming a writer and finding her way in the publishing industry. From exploring and utilizing both traditional and independent avenues, Nikesha discusses when she knew she was a writer, the 7-year-long journey of publishing her debut novel, Four Women, founding her company, NEW Reads Publications, and how she has k...

This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Minda Honey , author of the memoir,  The Heartbreak Years . A retrospective for  the twenty-somethings who are ready to stop leaping into the lives of the men they like and instead choose themselves and a life they love. The book is born out of Minda's series of essays for Longreads on dating politics. Her writing has also been featu...

This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with  jarrett hill  and  Tre'vell Anderson , the authors of,  Historically Black Phrases: From "I Ain't One of Your Little Friends" to "Who All Gon Be There? " Tre'vell and jarrett both have backgrounds in journalism and they are the hosts of the award-winning podcast  FANTI . Their book chronicles the living...

On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with  Honorée Fannone Jeffers , author of the epic novel, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois . Honorée is also the author of five critically acclaimed books of poetry, including the award-winning collection,  The Age of Phillis , based on the life and times of Phillis Wheatley Peters.

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 f...

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 epic...

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 th...

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...

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 w...

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 ho...

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 exp...

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 o...

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, a...

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...

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 Jero...

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,...

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...

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...

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 conversa...

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 prim...

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 t...