Black & Published

This week on Black and Published , Nikesha speaks with Tracy Cross , author of the horror novella Rootwork . Tracy has had several stories published in mass market anthologies and contributed to many horror podcasts. Her debut novella, Rootwork, is a folk horror homage to her late grandmother. She lives in Washington, DC and is a huge Prince fan.  During our conversation, Tracy opens up about grow...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of the novel, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? Lizzie is a British-Nigerian writer who has been at the receiving end of the question in the title of her novel many times. Born and raised in London, she  now lives with her husband in Milton Keynes, England.  In our conversation, Lizzie explains why her nov...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Chinedu Achebe , author of the novel, The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi . Chinedu is Nigerian-American. He graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors degree in Economics. He published his first book, Blunted on Reality in 2012. Chinedu has also written articles in the Huffington Post, Medium, and Bella Naija. He currently...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Lisa Williamson Rosenberg , author of the novel, Embers on the Wind . Becoming a novelist is Lisa's third career. Before writing, she was a professional ballet dancer with the Pennsylvania and Pacific Northwest Ballet Companies. She also has a Masters in Social Work and works as a psychotherapist. Lisa is biracial and Jewish and h...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Mateo Askaripour , author of the novel, Black Buck . The New York Times bestseller takes on racism in corporate America with humor and wit. Askaripour was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “10 rising stars to make waves,” and Black Buck was a Read With Jenna Today Show book club pick. He lives in Brooklyn.  In our conversation, M...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Maisy Card , author of the novel, These Ghosts Are Family which won an American Book Award, the  2021 OCM Bocas Prize in fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, among others.  Maisy's writing has appeared in The Paris Review Daily,  The New York Times, and other publications. She was born in Portmor...

On this BONUS episode of Black & Published , Nikesha talks about the release of her new book, Mardi Gras Indians , coming out from LSU Press on October 5, 2022.  She details the journey since her last bonus episode detailing her own Black & Published story about how the book started with an essay about food, evolved through a global pandemic and pregnancy, and left her with doubts and fear...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Katerina Canyon , author of the poetry collection, Surviving Home . Katerina is a 2020 and 2019 Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her stories have been published in New York Times and Huffington Post. She also served as the Poet Laureate of Sunland-Tujunga from 2000 - 2003.  She has published multiple chapbooks and an album. In our conversation,...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Dawn Turner , author of the memoir, Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood . An award-winning author and journalist who's reported all over the world, Dawn is a former columnist for the Chicago Tribune where she spent 15 years writing about race, politics and people whose stories are...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks Marita Golden , author of the novel, A Woman's Place , which was first published in 1986 and is now being re-released by McSweeney's. Marita is the author of six novels as wells as memoirs and other non-fiction works. She's also the co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and works with writers all over the world facilita...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Natasha Marin , curator of the Black Powerful   anthology; the latest installment in her Black Imagination artist series. A conceptual artist whose people-centered projects have circled the globe, Natasha's focus is on  amplifying, centering, and holding sacred space for a diverse sample of voices including LGBTQIA+ Black youth, i...

Black & Published podcast is coming back with fresh episodes for all of your literary needs. We're of course talking writing and publishing, but it's all dipped in the Black experience. Our stories and the lessons we learned from our families, even the crazy ones, and what it means to live a life where your legacy is words. New episodes drop every Tuesday starting September 6. Subscr...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with author, Georgia Dawkins ,  about her memoir, Everybody Knows: The Power of Being in Position . Georgia is The Purpose Producer. From ABC’s Good Morning America to Will Packer’s Central Ave, Georgia has worked within a multitude of television genres including local news, network news, talk shows, reality television, and entertainme...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with  poet, essayist, and journalist Jeneé Darden about her book, When a Purple Rose Blooms . An Oakland native, Jeneé holds a BA in ethnic studies from UC San Diego and a masters's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. She has reported for NPR , Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times , Ebony and more. The...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with author and poet Jessica Lynn   about her novel, Kissing Frogs: The Thirteenth . A proud graduate of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and an educator for over 10 years, Jessica Lynn used her experiences, the experiences of friends, and others to craft a literary drama that takes readers to the ancestral realm, on th...

In this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with author, Tamika Newhouse , about how she went from teen mom to CEO by the age of twenty. The author of 17 novels, including her latest romance collection, Suga Hill , Tamika Newhouse opens up about the pros and cons of the publishing industry, her battle with mental illness and depression while fulfilling her dreams, and making sur...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with author, performer, playwright, and educator Ebony Payne-English ,  about her journey as a literary artist that has led her to publish a poetry collection ( Secrets of Ma'at ), a graphic novel ( The Random Happenings ), and release six studio albums. Her latest offering, Kuongoza , dropped March 28, 2021 and is available on al...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with multi-genre literary artist Khalisa Rae . An essayist, journalist, budding novelist, and poet, Khalisa is the author of the chapbook Real Girls Have Real Problems . Her debut full-length poetry collection, Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat is out now from Red Hen Press. Khalisa, who is based in Durham, NC is the founder of Think...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with writer, editor, and New York Times Bestselling author Morgan Jerkins . Jerkins, who previously wrote the essay collection, This Will Be My Undoing and the memoir Wandering in Strange Lands , marks her fiction debut with Caul Baby . The Senior Culture Editor for ESPN's The Undefeated and a visiting professor at Columbia Univer...

On this throwback episode of Black & Published , Nikesha is speaking with author Angela Jackson-Brown . She is the author of the novel, Drinking From a Bitter Cup , and the award-winning poetry collection, House Repairs . Her novel, When Stars Rain Down , was published by Thomas Nelson, an imprint of Harper Collins, on April 13, 2021. Angela teaches Creative Writing and English at Ball State U...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Zakiya Dalila Harris , author of the novel, The Other Black Girl . Zakiya spent nearly three years in editorial at Knopf/Doubleday before leaving to write her debut novel. Prior to working in publishing, Zakiya received her MFA in creative writing from The New School. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Guernica,...

Hey Black and Published family. I’m Checking in with you today to introduce you to a new podcast. The Ursa short fiction podcast hosted by Black & Published season 1 alums Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton.  They’re also from Jacksonville, which is where I live so, you know, they get the extra hometown Duval love.  Join Deesha (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Dawnie (The Final Revival of...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Carlos Allende , author of the novel, Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love . Carlos is  is a media psychology scholar and a writer of fiction. He has written two previous novels: Cuadrillas y Contradanzas, a historical melodrama set during the War of Reform, in Mexico, and Love, or the Witches of Windward Circle, a horror farce set in Venice...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Asantewaa Boykin , author of the poetry collection, Love, Lyric & Liberation . Asantewaa Boykin is a proud San Diego native who found her voice in Oakland, CA. Her poetry and art combines her love of words, storytelling, and resistance. Exploring topics like; space-travel, black-femme militancy, & motherhood.  During the conver...

On this episode of Black & Published , Nikesha speaks with Brian Broome , author of the award winning memoir, Punch Me Up to the Gods . Brian is a poet and screenwriter. He has been a finalist in The Moth storytelling competition and won the grand prize in Carnegie Mellon University’s Martin Luther King Writing Awards. He also won a VANN Award from the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation for jou...