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This episode features our conversation with Ebony Aya, which was live-streamed on November 23, 2024. During our chat, we talked about her latest book, Reconsidering Eve: Towards a Deepened Consciousness.

Ebony Aya works at Macalester College as a Program Manager for the Jan Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching. She is a recent doctoral graduate from the University of Minnesota in Curriculum and Instruction, with minors in Culture and Teaching and African American and African Studies. In her work, she focuses on the experience of Black women in higher education and centering African ways of knowing. Additionally, she is the founder of the Aya Collective, a space that centers the expertise and experience of Black women in writing and is the author of published books, Reconsidering Eve: Towards a Deepened Consciousness and Incomplete Stories: On Loss, Love, and Hope, and recently launched the Aya Collective’s second anthology, Finding the Voice Within’.

Imagine what can happen when the sacred texts that we have turned to for spiritual nourishment and direction are places of refuge. Imagine the possibilities of staring into these texts we have meditated on from our youth up, to see ourselves reflected within the narratives in such a way that leaves us feeling simultaneously inspired and challenged, without guilt or shame. Published in July of 2024, Reconsidering Eve: Towards a Deepened Consciousness is a text that allows us to imagine, giving us space to think through what we have learned about the biblical concept of Eve and the situatedness of Black womanhood. The stories found within these pages ensure a pathway towards a deepened self-consciousness that ultimately leads to liberation.

To learn more about Ebony, her work, and to purchase her books, please visit ayamediapublishingllc.com.

To learn more about the Aya Collective, please visit ayacollectivemn.com

Find Ebony and the Aya Collective on Instagram: @ayacollectivemn
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This episode features our conversation with Brianna Wheeler, which was live-streamed on November 16, 2024.

Brianna Wheeler covers cannabis, culture, food, film, parenting and local politics for print and web. She served as host, writer and producer of the Willamette Week news podcast, and is a frequent contributor to Portland City Cast. Her creative nonfiction work has appeared in The Nasiona, Midnight and Indigo, and has been featured in Medium’s Human Parts newsletter. Her first book, Altogether Different: A Memoir about Identity, Inheritance, and the Raid that Started the Civil War was published by Korza Books in 2023.


If you could choose between being Black and being white, what would you do?
As a child, Brianna Wheeler, the mixed-race descendant of Dangerfield Newby-first of John Brown's raiders to die at Harpers Ferry in their bid to end slavery-unconsciously chose whiteness, unaware that she had the choice at all. As an adult, following the deaths of her mother and grandmother, Brianna struggled with her own identity, convinced that her lasting legacy would be the rejection of her own Blackness.

Then, in 2020, a racial reckoning rekindled her connection to both her heritage and her grandmother's lifelong work of preserving the stories of Dangerfield and the rest of her ancestors, leading Brianna to confront both long-held family dynamics and her own place in history-from a new perspective.
A unique blend of memoir, creative nonfiction and illustration, Altogether Different untangles the complex connection between the stories we tell ourselves and the histories preserved for us.

To learn more about Brianna, please visit briannawheeler.com.

Find Brianna on Instagram: @briyonceflipy
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This episode features our conversation with Nathan Alexander Moore (Speculative Fiction. Poetry. Nonfiction. Critical Theory.), which was live-streamed on November 2, 2024.

Nathan Alexander Moore (she, they) is a Black nonbinary transfemme writer, cultural theorist, and educator. Currently she is the Assistant Professor of Black Trans and Queer Studies in the Department of Women & Gender Studies at University of Colorado Boulder. Her research explores Black transfemininity, speculative fictions, and temporality. Their previous work has been published TransNarratives: Scholarly and Creative Works on Transgender Experience, Transgender Studies Quarterly, and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. Their fiction was a Semifinalist for the 2021 Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition, as well as shortlisted for the 2022 Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Award. They were also a 2023 Lambda Literary Fellow in poetry. Her debut fiction collection, THE RUPTURE FILES (2024), is available from Hajar Press.

Across multiple worlds in upheaval, a curious cast of Black queer characters must choose between what they already know themselves to be and what they might yet become in the cataclysm. A shapeshifter learns to embrace their body as it changes through a lunar cycle. A stranger’s visit disturbs three sisters sheltering from monsters that stalk the land. An archivist hears an irresistible call to the rising ocean as she uncovers a surprising history. A mysterious fire sparks whispers of revolution in the mind of a vampire’s captive consort.

At once tender and audacious, Nathan Alexander Moore’s debut collection, THE RUPTURE FILES, tells the stories of extraordinary creatures making impossible but human decisions. Traversing apocalypses both big and small, these captivating tales vibrate with the tensions between loss and growth; self and community; precarity and possibility.

To learn more about Nathan Alexander Moore and her body of work, please visit nathanalexandermoore.com.

Find Nathan on Instagram: @sumthingmoore
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This episode features our conversation with Adrian Burks, which was live-streamed on October 20, 2024.

Adrian Burks is a director, writer, actor and producer. An ex-collegiate athlete originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Adrian has been a filmmaker in Los Angeles for over a decade. He has appeared in movies such as the Academy Award winning WHIPLASH, and the comedic cult classic FIRST PERIOD. Adrian has also appeared in television shows such as CBS: CODE BLACK, and ALL ABOUT LIZZIE. He has written 5 produced short films, has directed three, and is currently in development for a feature film he wrote and plans to direct. Adrian won 6 awards for his film AFTER LAUGHTER in which he co-wrote, co-directed, produced and starred in. He went on to get accepted and won the Sony Pictures and Independent Film Trust creative writing program: He wrote a self-help film guide book, How to Frame Success: A Filmmaker's Guide Book to Vision, Networking, and Cinematic Triumphs (April 2024) and is currently VP of production and development for TigerPig Entertainment.

Dive into the heart of DIY filmmaking with How to Frame Success: A Filmmaker's Guide Book to Vision, Networking, and Cinematic Triumphs. In this comprehensive guide, aspiring filmmakers will discover the essential tools and strategies needed to navigate the dynamic world of filmmaking. From cultivating a clear vision to effectively networking within the industry, each chapter provides practical advice and actionable tips for aspiring filmmakers. Learn how to produce your own films, maximize opportunities at film festivals, and assemble a reliable crew to bring your vision to life on screen. With insights from Academy and Emmy award winning creatives and real world examples, this book is a must-have resource for anyone passionate about filmmaking. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your career to the next level, "How to Frame Success" will empower you to achieve your dreams.

During the live-streamed broadcast, Adrian shared clips from some of his films. To see those clips and hear us talk about them, be sure to check out the interview on YouTube.

To learn more about Adrian and his body of work, please visit www.adrianburksartist.com.

Find Adrian on Instagram: @adrianburks
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This episode features our conversation with Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, which was live-streamed on October 19, 2024. We chatted about her recently released poetry collections, For the Girls Who Do Too Much and The Summoning of Black Joy.

Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is founder of the 501(c)3 nonprofit, Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice, and the current Poet Laureate of Prince George's County, Maryland. Her creative work as a poet and playwright has been showcased on prestigious stages and platforms, including Washington, DC's John F. Kennedy Center, New York's Apollo Theatre, and Baltimore Theatre Project.

Dr. Ali-Coleman is the author of the poetry collections For the Girls Who Do Too Much (2024), The Summoning of Black Joy (2023), the children's book Mariah's Maracas (2018), and co-editor of Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice, and Popular Culture (2022). Her poetry has been found in numerous publications, including Clarion, The Skinny Journal, and Zora's Den's first two book anthologies. In 2019, she was a Theatre Alliance playwright with work featured in Theatre Alliance's 2020-2021 season.

Dr. Ali-Coleman founded the multidisciplinary arts group Liberated Muse in 2008 and co-founded the national education research group Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars, LLC , during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. BFHES has provided vital support to over 3000 families, offering annual teach-ins and workshops.

Dr. Ali-Coleman holds a doctorate in education from Morgan State University, an MA in Mass Communication from Towson University, and a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. A recipient of numerous grants and fellowships for her writing, performance, and teaching, her accolades include awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council, and Poets & Writers.

To learn more about Dr. Ali-Coleman and her body of work, please visit http://www.KhadijahAli-Coleman.com.

Find Dr. Ali-Coleman on Instagram: @khadijahonline
Find Liberated Muse on Instagram: @liberatedmuse
Find the Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice on Instagram: @blackwriters4peace
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On this episode, we welcomed back Tracy Cross (who first joined us in Season Two) for our conversation on October 5, 2024 to talk about her recently released second book, A Gathering of Weapons.

About A Gathering of Weapons

Nearly four years have passed since the events of Rootwork (the first book of The Conjure Series) and the youngest Conway sister, Pee Wee, is now thirteen years old and on the cusp of magical greatness. Ever since the tragedy of 1889, she's worked tirelessly to practice her Hoodoo and hone her conjure skills so as to right the wrongs done to her family. But as a young Black girl living in the post-Reconstruction era of the segregated South, her growing powers do not go unnoticed. Strange and malevolent forces have descended upon the small Louisiana parish Pee Wee calls home, and she must use her newly acquired conjure skills to fight back. Will she use them for good? Or will she pledge herself to the ghost of a dead Voodoo priestess and the darkness the woman serves in exchange for unlimited power and the promise of generational revenge? A Gathering of Weapons is the second book of The Conjure Series.

About Tracy Cross

Tracy Cross’s debut novel, Rootwork, explored racism, sexism, karmic justice, and the power of family and faith. Her second novel in the series, A Gathering of Weapons (Dark Hart Publishing, 2024). Her work can be found in several anthologies, including Don’t Break the Oath, Black Magick (13 Tales of Darkness, Horror and the Occult) and 99 Tiny Terrors. She has been a recipient of a grant from the Ladies of Horror Fiction and the Horror Writers Association Scholarship from Hell. She lives in Washington, DC, is an active member of the HWA and a huge Prince fan. She also enjoys disco and has an Esty page for her other artistic endeavors.

Learn more about Tracy and her work, please visit tracycrossonline.com.

Find Tracy on Instagram: @tracycrosswrites
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This episode features our conversation from September 28, 2024 with Lori L. Tharps, founder of the Reed, Write & Create platform.

Lori is an award-winning author, journalist and educator. A self-described, storytelling evangelist, Tharps is a recognized voice in the areas of race, identity politics and African-American culture. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Glamour and Essence magazines, among others.

In 2021, Tharps moved with her husband and children to the south of Spain, where she launched Reed, Write & Create, a podcast and platform that celebrates and supports BIPoC stories and storytellers with content, coaching, and community. The Reed, Write, & Create podcast was named Best Literary Podcast by the Black Podcasting Awards in 2023 (Black Writers Read is the recipient of the 2024 Best Literary Podcast Award from the Black Podcasting Awards.

A graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Tharps is the author of three critically acclaimed nonfiction books, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain, and Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families. Tharps also penned the novel, Substitute Me.

Tharps also works as a book coach and collaborator with celebrities and public figures, and has written four books in this role, including The Redemption of Bobby Love and I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here. Both of these titles began as posts on the popular Humans of New York Instagram feed.

The Reed, Write & Create platform provides multiple opportunities for writers to receive a range of support including the blog, the podcast, and The Sanctuary.

Learn more about Lori, her work and the Reed, Write & Create platform, please visit: ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Find Lori on Instagram: @loriltharps
Find Reed, Write & Create on Instagram: @reedwriteandcre8
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This special bonus episode of Black Writers Read is the first episode of Season Eight of Podcasting is the New Kink! which features me as a guest co-host! I was invited by Jasmine Gary to join her on her platform to chat about the novel, The Other Black Girl (Atria, 2021) by Zakiya Delila Harris, and the subsequent television series adaptation (now available to stream on Hulu). ​​​​Urgent, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, this thriller, Harris's debut novel, is about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.

The Other Black Girl has received multiple accolades including being recognized as a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and A Good Morning America and Read with Marie Claire Book Club Pick and a People Best Book of Summer.It was named a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by Time, The Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Parade, Goodreads, Fortune, and BBC AND Named a Best Book of 2021 by Time, The Washington Post, Esquire, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Harper’s Bazaar, and NPR. This book was and remains a popular read, which is why it was optioned and adapted into a television series.

Podcasting Is the New Kink! is a space for Black women to get inspiration and insight! Join host, Jasmine Gary (she/her), best known as Pink Lady, as she interviews wellness and healing professionals and reviews television adaptations of novels written by Black women. Learn to be your best and favorite self, and think more critically about media and society.

Find Jasmine on Instagram: @pinkladyprod and @pod.kink
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