Black Bronx Writers to Read for Black History Month

Raven Leilani Baptiste, born August 26, 1990, is an American writer who published her debut novel Luster released in 2020 to critical acclaim.

Roya Marsh is a poet, performer, educator, activist, and the author of dayliGht. A Bronx native, she is the co-founder of the Bronx Poet Laureate position and was awarded the 2021 Lotus Foundation Prize for Poetry.

Claudia Rankine was born on January 1, 1963. The Jamaican poet, playwright, educator, and multimedia artist whose work reflected a moral vision that deplored racism and the call for social justice. She envisioned her work as a means to create something vivid, inmatate, and transparent.

Joshunda Sanders is the author of How Racism and Sexism Killed Traditional Media: Why the Future of Journalism Depends on Women and People of Color and The Beautiful Darkness: A Handbook for Orphans. In 2017, she was the recipient of a Hedgebrook residency. She has presented at SXSW, TED City 2.0, and at Princeton University. She resides and works in New York City.

Nikki Grimes is a New York Times bestselling author, awardee of the 2022 Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2020 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

Coe Booth was born on March 21 in New York City and grew up in the Bronx. Booth graduated from college in 1996 with a BA and MA in psychology and worked as a social worker in New York City Emergency Children's Service. In 2005, she attended The New School for General Studies in New York, where she completed a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing. Also in 2005, Booth completed her first novel, Tyrell.

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the author of several children’s books, including Operation Sisterhood, It Doesn't Take A Genius, Two Naomis, co-authored with Audrey Vernick, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Saving Earth: Climate Change and the Fight for Our Future, Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow, and the picture books Someday Is Now and Mae Makes A Way. She is a member of the Brown Bookshelf, and editor of the We Need Diverse Books anthology.

Enoch Boateng is a Senior at Bronx Academy for Software Engineering. His goal is to graduate and attend a SUNY or private college to study computer engineering or become a real estate worker.