Reed, Write, and Create

Episode #28 of the podcast is dedicated to the literary life and legacy of Jessie Redmon Fauset, the most prolific novelist of the Harlem Renaissance, and also, sadly, the most overlooked and under-appreciated.

On this episode of the Reed, Write, & Create podcast, I will be sharing Fauset’s fascinating life story, as well as four reasons why she is often sidelined and left in the shadows when it comes to conversations about the literary greats of the Harlem Renaissance. Spoiler alert: Having an affair with W.E.B. Dubois, may or may not have had something to do with it. (I'm pouring the tea, so be ready.)

Tune in for a little literary history, some literary lessons you can apply to your own writing life, and the pep talk you need right now.

Visit the Reed, Write, & Create blog for more content and resources to up-level your writing life.

If you’re a BIPOC woman writer who is looking for community and accountability to help you get published and get paid, apply to join the Reed, Write, & Create Sanctuary. Our members stay winning.

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On episode 27 of the podcast, award-winning poet and debut novelist, Phillip B. Williams, is on the show. You might have heard about Williams because his brand new novel, Ours, was one of Oprah’s most anticipated books for 2024.

Ours is an epic story about a conjure woman named Saint, who goes around destroying plantations in the south, and then freeing the enslaved workers. She then creates a magical world called Ours where the newly emancipated can live in peace because white people can neither see, nor access Ours. And if they try, they meet with a gruesome ending!

It’s an epic story of Black resistance.

During our conversation, Phillip delivers a full masterclass on creative writing essentials.Topics covered include:

• How to use poetry to write better prose.
• What MFA programs are actually good for and who should apply
• Why writers shouldn’t be worried about word count
• What you should be reading to improve your writing
• Why we should be reading the works of our literary ancestors

And…

• Why He Views Ours as Black Surrealism rather than Magical Realism

Grab your pen and get ready to take notes, because this is an episode with lessons you’ll want to apply to your writing life today!

To learn more about Philip B. William, visit his website and find him on Instagram

Buy a copy of Ours from The Reed, Write, & Create Bookshop.

Phillip has also written two books of award-winning poetry. Check out Thief in the Interior.

One of Phillip’s early poetry influences is the legendary Sonia Sanchez. Try her American Book Award winning collection, Homegirls and Hand Grenades to inspire your poetry and prose.

If you’re looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, be sure to check out all of the amazing content at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Sign up for the monthly, Reed, Write, & Create newsletter for literary resources and opportunities delivered right to your inbox.

If you’re a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive writing community to join, where you’ll find accountability partners, BETA readers for your work, and opportunities to get published and get paid, apply to join the Reed, Write, & Create Sanctuary.

Don’t buy your books on Amazon, support indie booksellers and shop online at the Reed, Write, & Create bookshop for a list of curated titles by BIPOC authors.

Sharing is caring, so please share the name of this podcast with all of your BIPOC writer friends. Thanks!

On episode #26 of the podcast, I’m using the life of the illustrious Langston Hughes, to give you a pep talk on how to make a living with your writing. Even in hard times.

Did you know that Langston Hughes is recognized as the first African-American writer to make a living solely from his writing? Yes, Langston Hughes was definitely the hardest working writer in Harlem, and throughout his life before and after the renaissance. So studying his success and strategies can give us some excellent ideas about crafting a successful writing life.

Stay tuned for some innovative, actionable tips and motivation for your writing life.

To learn more about Langston Hughes, especially his life in Spain, enjoy this blog post I wrote for ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Read Langston’s wonderful autobiography (the one I read from during the episode) I Wonder as I Wander to stay motivated throughout your writing life.

You might also enjoy this collection of Langston’s short stories called, The Short Stories of Langston Hughes.

If you’re looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, be sure to check out all of the amazing content at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Sign up for the monthly, Reed, Write, & Create newsletter for literary resources and opportunities delivered right to your inbox.

If you’re a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive writing community to join, where you’ll find accountability partners, BETA readers for your work, and opportunities to get published and get paid, apply to join the Reed, Write, & Create Sanctuary.

When you’re buying new books, don’t support a massive online retailer that doesn’t pay authors or publishes their fair share, and puts indie booksellers out of business. Shop indie bookstores like the Reed, Write, & Create Bookstore powered by Bookshop.org.

On episode 25 of the podcast, my guest is New York Times Bestselling author, Ilyon Woo.

Ilyon is the author of the new book, Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom and The Great Divorce: A Nineteenth-Century Mother’s Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times. Her writing has also appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal,Time, and The New York Times.

During our delightful conversation Ilyon shares:

• When she fell in love with storytelling.
• Why she’s obsessed with the Shakers.
• Her secrets to writing thrilling, jump-off-the-page nonfiction.
• How being Korean-American has impacted her career as a writer.
• What the descendants of Willam and Ellen Craft, the subjects of Master, Slave, Husband, Wife, think of her portrayal of their famous relatives.
• Her advice for other BIPOC writers who want to write beyond their own cultural stories.

It’s another informative, inspiring and fun conversation with an award-winning BIPOC writer.

I hope you love it!

To learn more about Ilyon Woo, visit her website: IlyonWoo.com and/or find her on Instagram @ilyonwooauthor.

Buy a copy of the incredible, Master Slave, Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom from The Reed, Write, & Create Bookshop.

To learn more about William and Ellen Craft, follow the Instagram account started by their descendants to share their story with the world. @WilliamandEllenCraft

If you want to read the book, Woo referenced during the conversation, it was Tiya Miles’ All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake.

Check out Ilyon’s first book, the fascinating, The Great Divorce: A 19th Century Mother’s Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, The Shakers, and Her Times.

If you’re looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, be sure to check out all of the amazing content at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Sign up for the monthly, Reed, Write, & Create newsletter for literary resources and opportunities delivered right to your inbox.

If you’re a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive writing community to join, where you’ll find accountability partners, BETA readers for your work, and opportunities to get published and get paid, come to the Virtual Open House for The Sanctuary on March 17, 2024. Sign up HERE for more information and an invitation to the Open House.

Don’t buy your books on Amazon, support indie booksellers and shop online at the Reed, Write, & Create bookshop for a list of curated titles by BIPOC authors.

Sharing is caring, so please share the name of this podcast with all of your BIPOC writer friends. Thanks!

On episode 24 of the podcast, you’re getting a pep talk about art and activism, using the life and times of the incredible Audre Lorde as our role model. We’re talking about the intersection of identity, writing, and making the world a better place.

Audre Lorde was a Black feminist writer and activist who authored several books of poetry, essays, and memoir. Some of her most popular titles include, Sister Outsider, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, and The Cancer Journals.

This episode will leave all my BIPOC writers motivated and inspired to change the world with their words. So, let’s go!

To Learn More about the Incredible Audre Lorde

Visit: The AudreLordeProject.com

Read: Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis de Veaux

Read: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Read: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

Read: The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde

If you’re looking for more creative writing inspiration, and useful resources for your literary life, be sure to check out all of the amazing content at ReedWriteandCreate.com.

Sign up for the monthly, Reed, Write, & Create newsletter for literary resources and opportunities delivered right to your inbox.

If you’re a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive writing community to join, where you’ll find accountability partners, BETA readers for your work, and opportunities to get published and get paid, apply to join the Reed, Write, & Create Sanctuary.

Don’t buy your books on Amazon, support indie booksellers and shop online at the Reed, Write, & Create bookshop for a list of curated titles by BIPOC authors.

We’re back with season 3 of the Reed, Write, and Create Podcast!

On episode 23 of the podcast, my guest is New York Times best-selling author, Tia Williams.

Tia is an author of both YA titles and adult fiction. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva and then penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. Her award-winning novel, The Perfect Find is currently a Netflix movie starring Gabrielle Union. Her next novel, Seven Days in June was a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, and her new novel, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, will be published by Grand Central on February 6, 2024.

During the episode, Tia gets real about the challenges of writing while Black in the mainstream publishing industry. She speaks openly and honestly about the obstacles she faced getting her second adult novel published, even after the success of her former titles. She tells us what race had to do it, and most importantly, how and why she never gave up on her writing dreams.

In the episode we also cover:

• The fun and not so fun parts about writing romance.
• How to write a good sex scene.
• Why BIPOC writers shouldn’t feel obliged to center trauma in their stories.

It’s a great episode to kick off Season 3, Black History Month, and Valentine’s Day. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

To learn more about Tia Williams, visit her website, TiaWilliams.net

Find Tia on the socials.

On Instagram

On Facebook

On Twitter/X

To purchase a copy of Tia's delightful new novel, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, visit the Reed, Write, & Create Online Bookshop and support independent bookstores.

BIPOC woman writers: We have a supportive and active writing community where we provide you with the resources, accountability, and opportunities you need to get published and get paid. Visit ReedWriteandCreate.com and click on the The Sanctuary to learn more. Emerging and Seasoned writers are welcome.

Sign up for the Reed, Write and Create newsletter

Visit ReedWriteandCreate.com for more resources and inspiration on the writing life.

Please leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you!

Lori is taking a break from her winter break to share an update about the future of the podcast.

The podcast is getting a new name! Find out what it is and what caused the change on this short but important episode.

New Links for all things Reed, Write, & Create.

The Reed, Write, & Create website.

Reed, Write, & Create on Facebook.

Reed, Write, & Create on Twitter @ReedWriteCre8

Reed, Write, & Create on IG @readwritecre8

To learn more about the fascinating history of the Papyrus plant and the origin story of the book, check out the amazing book called, Papyrus: The Invention of the Book in the Ancient World. by Irene Vallejo.

On episode 22 of the podcast, award-winning author, Ibi Zoboi is my guest. Ibi is the New York Times Bestselling author of the YA novel, American Street, which among other distinctions, was a National Book Award finalist. Ibi is the editor of the anthology Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America. She co-authored the Walter Award and L.A. Times Book Prize-winning novel-in-verse, Punching the Air, written with Exonerated Five member, Yusef Salaam. Her debut picture book, The People Remember, received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. And her most recent books include Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel, and her new novel, Nigeria Jones.

During our conversation, Ibi shares her unique journey to publishing success, as well as the sacrifices and compromises she had to make in order to get her foot in the door of the mainstream publishing industry. She also shares her experiences writing for a book packaging company early on in her career.

If you’re a fiction writer looking to break into the mainstream publishing industry, this is an important and informative episode to listen to and take notes.

Writing Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Ibi mentioned a lot of great resources within this episode. Here are a few you might want to check out.

• Ibi Zoboi’s website
• VONA Writing Workshop
• Clarion Workshop for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers
• Forbidden Planet Comic Bookstore in New York City
• Nikki Giovanni’s iconic poem Ego Trippin
• Alloy Entertainment
• If you want to learn more about Octavia Butler and her work, listen to our episode of the podcast on Octavia Estelle Butler. It’s really great.

BIPOC Writers, We Got You!

If you are a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive and active writing community, where we support and celebrate BIPOC women writers who want to get published and get paid, visit ReadWriteandCreate.com and click on the The Sanctuary tab.

You can also sign up for the Read, Write and Create newsletter, which is the first place where you’ll find out about my latest classes and creative offerings. Sign up on the Read, Write and Create website.

The RWC Gift Guide for BIPOC writers and readers was created for you! There are some really unique gifts listed on the guide that your writer and reader friends will love, plus the guide is not too long so you can quickly find the perfect gift and then get back to writing.

Be sure to visit The Read, Write and Create online bookshop, where you’ll find a whole shelf of books that make great gifts. You will also find the books of all of the guests who have appeared on the podcast highlighted there as well. Remember a purchase from our bookshop goes to support this podcast and independent booksellers everywhere.

We’ll be back in February. Until then, keep writing and keep creating. Happy Holidays!

On episode 21 of the podcast, I’m taking you on a tour of The Sanctuary, the new private membership community we’re launching at Read, Write, and Create headquarters. The Sanctuary is a private community for BIPOC women writers who want to get their work out into the world and who want to get paid for doing it.

I’m going to share the origin story of The Sanctuary, but I’m also going to share why writing communities are gaining in popularity, even though they are far from a new idea. So, even if you’re not a BIPOC woman writer or The Sanctuary isn’t for you, I urge you to stick around and listen anyway to find out how writing communities can help you optimize your writing life.

And of course we’ll dip back into history for a minute to learn how our literary ancestors used official writing communities to help get their work into the world.

On the show, you’ll learn:

• Why I Created the Sanctuary
• Who Belongs in The Sanctuary
• What Goes on Behind the Doors of the Sanctuary and Why it is a Private Community
• How Communities Like the Harlem Writers Guild and the South Side Writers Group Inspired the Creation of The Sanctuary
• Why The Sanctuary is for BIPOC Women only

The episode is short and sweet, but I hope it answers all of your questions about The Sanctuary. If you’d like to learn more about our community, including how to apply, visit the new Sanctuary page on the Read, Write, and Create website.

For more resources, recommendations and inspiration to help you optimize your writing life, visit ReadWriteandCreate.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the RWC newsletter.

The holidays are coming! Whether you celebrate Hannakah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or all three, you’ll be sure to find a great gift for the literature lovers in your life on the first ever RWC Holiday Gift Guide. Curated specifically for BIPOC readers and writers, there is something for everyone – even you - in our guide. And trust, it’s not an overwhelming list, so you can quickly find just the right gift and then get back to writing!

If you prefer to just gift everyone on your shopping list with books, be sure to visit The Read, Write and Create online bookshop, where you’ll find a whole shelf of books that make great gifts. Remember a purchase from our bookshop goes to support this podcast and independent booksellers everywhere.

If you enjoyed this episode or any of our other episodes, please be sure to leave a rating or a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Keep Writing.

On episode #20 of the Read, Write, and Create podcast, my guest is Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, who shares her unconventional success story as an independent children’s book author and publisher.

Dr. Pizzoli is an African-American author, curator, producer and publisher. Originally from Texas, she is the mother of four children and has resided in Rome, Italy for over fifteen years. In 2013, she opened a boutique English-language school for kids in Rome called The English Schoolhouse, which she later converted into an independent publishing house.

In just under a decade, Dr. Pizzoli has published over sixty books, with many more currently in development. Her most popular books include The Ghanaian Goldilocks, Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO, and K is for Kahlo. After gaining international attention in print and media for her diverse children’s books, Dr. Pizzoli was approached by Farrar Straus and Giroux in early 2017 and offered a book deal for Tallulah the Tooth Fairy CEO which was then released in 2019. Film rights for Tallulah the Tooth Fairy were later acquired by the actress, Gabrielle Union.

During our conversation she shares:

• Her unconventional path to literary success.
• Why she chose to self publish her own books.
• Why she likes to find and contract her own illustrators.
• How she handles publishing deals with major publishers, on her own terms. Not to mention the movies and licensing agreements she’s also negotiating.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you want to learn more about Dr. Tamara Pizzoli or to purchase her books, visit TheEnglishSchoolhouse.com

If you want to follow Dr. Pizzoli on Instagram, follow her @tamarapizzoli and to learn more about her books @theenglishschoolhouse.

Check out the original Kickstarter campaign that launched The Ghanaian Goldilocks.

Dr. Pizzoli referenced KDP as the platform she uses for self-publishing, that is Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.

If you are enjoying the Read, Write, and Create podcast, don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.

For more resources, recommendations and inspiration to help you optimize your writing life, visit ReadWriteandCreate.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the RWC newsletter because I send out a monthly list of opportunities for BIPOC writers that include jobs, open submissions, residencies, grants, fellowships and more.

If you’d like more information about The Sanctuary, the new membership community exclusively for BIPOC women writers who want to get their work into the world, please use this link to join the "I Want to Know More" List.