Reed, Write, and Create

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.

On episode 19 of the podcast, I’m giving a pep-talk on the importance of writing retreats for your regular writing practice. Yes, I just ran my first writing retreat, so I’m still glowing from that amazing experience, but this pep talk isn’t about me. It’s about you and all the benefits you will gain from adding writing retreats to your writing life.

Some of the benefits of attending writing retreats include:

• Increased productivity in your writing
• Improved self-confidence as a writer
• Access to a wider writing network
• Increased creativity energy

Even our literary ancestors knew how beneficial it was to run away and write, so of course I’ll be bringing their perspective to my pep talk as well.

By the way, I’m making a big announcement at the end of the episode, so be sure to listen all the way to the end!

Links You Need from the Show

Learn more about The Renaissance House and their residence for BIPOC writers.

If you want to read Zora Neale Hurston’s autobiography/memoir that she wrote while on “retreat” consider buying your copy of Dust Tracks on the Road at Bookshop.org so you can support this podcast and independent booksellers everywhere.

If you want to start planning which retreat you’d like to attend in 2024, check out this list of retreats for BIPOC writers I created. It will be updated for 2024 soon.

If you need ideas on how to plan your own writing retreat, check out this post I wrote about the DIY writing retreat.

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.

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. You know you want some of that good stuff, don't you?

On episode 18 of the podcast, the amazing Marita Golden is my guest.

Marita Golden is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include the novels, The Wide Circumference of Love, and After and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons, and Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex. Her most recent work of nonfiction is The New Black Woman Loves Herself, Has Boundaries and Heals Every Day. Marita is also the Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation.

Over the years, Marita’s life and work as an author and literary activist has served as both personal and professional inspiration to me and countless other writers.

During our interview, we discuss:

• The secrets and strategies Marita has used over the years to have a successful, diverse and long-lasting literary career.
• Time management skills.
• Why writers shouldn’t feel guilty about the need to make money from their writing.
• The need for self-care for writers and why it’s not just a trending buzzword.
• The importance of community for BIPOC writers.

I guarantee this episode with Marita Golden will leave you inspired, well-informed, and ready to write.

To learn more about Marita Golden and to find out about her classes and coaching, visit her website at MaritaGolden.com

To buy some of Marita’s most iconic books, visit the Read, Write, and Create bookshop and support Marita, this podcast, and independent bookstores everywhere.

To hear an interview I did with Marita Golden about her anthology and novel on Alzheimer's, have a listen here.

To learn more about the incredible Hurston/ Wright foundation, visit their website at HurstonWright.org.

For more literary resources to help you love your writing life, please visit the Read, Write, and Create website and blog.

If you’re looking for opportunities to get your work published, to get paid for your writing, and/or retreats and residencies where you can deep dive into the writing world, be sure to subscribe to the Read, Write and Create newsletter.

Follow @ReadWriteandCre8 on Instagram for more lit news, views, tips, tricks, giveaways, and opportunities.

Please don’t forget to leave a rating and/or a review for the show on Apple podcasts or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. Thank you!

On episode 18 of the podcast, I’m sharing a lively pep-talk using the life and times of the incredible Dr. Maya Angelou to inspire you to tap into your purpose and passions as BIPOC writers.

One little programming note, make sure you stick around all the way to the end of the episode because I’m launching a new segment of the show called, Read Like a Writer, where I will be sharing a book recommendation for a book that is delightful to read and will help you improve your craft.

The topics we cover in this Maya Angelou inspired pep talk include:

• Why writers have to live life and embrace new opportunities.
• How to launch your writing career by starting with what you love.
• The sacrifice and struggle required if you want to be a writer.
• How writers can heal the world with their words and why BIPOC writers especially have an obligation to do so.
• Why Maya Angelou never used the words “writer’s block.”

Read Like a Writer Selection: The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. You can purchase a copy at the Read, Write and Create online bookshop and support this podcast, Ingrid, and independent booksellers across the United States.

Thank you for listening to this award-winning podcast. If you are looking for more resources, recommendations and inspiration to help you optimize your writing life, please 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, and fellowships.

Find out what amazing award the Read, Write, and Create podcast won in September.

We also now have a dedicated Instagram account @ReadWriteandCre8. Be sure to follow that account because it's where all things Read, Write and Create will be announced.

Please don’t forget to leave a rating and/or a review for the show on Apple podcasts or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.

I'll see you in two weeks on Monday. Keep writing!

On episode 16 of the podcast, I am joined by the incredible Denene Millner. Denene is truly a powerhouse in the publishing world. She is an author, editor, television and podcast host, and journalist. She has authored more than 30 books, including six New York Times best sellers. She is the creator and director of Denene Millner Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and MyBrownBaby.com, a critically acclaimed blog that examines the intersection of parenting and race.

Millner has written and collaborated on books of fiction, non-fiction, and youth literature including co-authoring Act Like a Lady, Think Like A Man, and Straight Talk, No Chaser both with comedian Steve Harvey.

On September 5 of 2023, Denene’s debut solo novel, One Blood was released to rave reviews.

During our interview, Denene walks us through how she went from being a journalist for the Associated Press, to running her own imprint at Simon & Schuster and the strategies and mindset she used to accomplish her writing goals. Other things we discuss include:

• The benefits of being able to write across genres.
• Denene’s secrets for productivity as a writer.
• The physical toll writing takes on the body and what to do to protect ourselves.
• Why it’s important to have your literary sisters in your life when you’re writing.
• Why you should never apologize for centering your people in your writing and how doing so can actually become your professional claim to fame.
• What literary ancestors Denene looks to for inspiration for her writing life. Her answers may surprise you!

Get ready to be inspired and to take notes because Ms. Milner is ready to school you.

Grab a copy of Denene’s epic new novel, One Blood at the Read, Write, and Create online Bookshop and support Denene, this podcast, and independent bookstores everywhere.

To learn more about Denene and all of her books and contributions to the literary world, visit DeneneMillner.com.

To find some of the best books written for young people by Black authors and illustrators, visit DeneneMillnerbooks.com.

For more literary resources to help you love your writing life, please visit the Read, Write, and Create website and blog.

If you’re looking for opportunities to get your work published, to get paid for your writing, and/or retreats and residencies where you can deep dive into the writing world, be sure to subscribe to the Read, Write and Create bimonthly newsletter.

Follow @ReadWriteandCre8 on Instagram for more lit news, views, tips, tricks, giveaways, and opportunities.

If you're enjoying this award-winning podcast, please take a moment to leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform.

It was Virginia Wolf who said, “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” And it’s true, when we write, particularly if we’re working on creative work, we need peace and quiet so we can sink into our imagination.

But writers are human too. And that means we are social beings. We crave connections. We need our tribe. But not just any tribe, we writers need fellow writers who understand the nuances of a literary life and will help us stay committed to our craft.

Episode 15 of the podcast is all about why writers need writing communities. And I'm using the legendary writing group known as The Sisterhood to prove my point. In case you didn't know, The Sisterhood was a famous writing group for Black women in the late 1970s. Members included the likes of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and June Jordan, and there was gumbo and champagne involved.

On the show, I explain:

• Why writing groups are just as important as a room of one's own for writers.
• What writing groups can do for your writing career and output.
• How to start your own writing group.
• Why BIOPC writers need their own writing groups

Links from the show you may need:

The Read, Write and Create Blog offers more resources for BIPOC writers.

If you'd like to pre-order the new book about The Sisterhood, you can do that at the RWC Bookshop.

Follow the new Read, Write and Create Instagram account @ReadWriteandCre8

Please don't forget to leave a rating or review of the podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

On episode 14, I have another episode from my “Best of…Author Interviews.” This week I am sharing my 2021 interview with award-winning novelist, Kaitlyn Greenidge.

Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel We Love You, Charlie Freeman (Algonquin Books), was one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. She is currently Features Director at Harper’s Bazaar as well as a contributing writer for The New York Times. Her second novel, Libertie, was published by Algonquin Books and it had just come out at the time of our interview.

Liberite is an exquisite novel about a young Black woman, the title character Libertie, who is coming of age during the era of reconstruction. She has never known the personal sting of slavery yet she yearns to be truly free. The novel begins in upstate New York, but the story makes its way to Haiti and beyond. And believe it or not, Libertie is actually based on real-life characters. 

In addition to discussing Kaitlyn’s experience writing Liberite, we also dive deep into the writing life and how to make it work. We talk about:

• How to balance writing with a full time job and motherhood.
• The truth about writer’s block and how to overcome it.
• Why writers don’t need solitude to create.
• The importance of writing Black characters who are not exceptional.
• A missive from Alice Walker that inspires Kaitlyn’s work. 
• The fascinating real-life characters Libertie and her mother are based on.

This is an insightful and inspiring episode, with lots of actionable advice for writers to use in their own writing practice. I hope you enjoy it.

Links from the Show

If you want to know more about Kaitlyn Greenidge, visit her website at KaitlynGreenidge.com.

You can also follow Kaitlyn on Instagram.

If you’d like to buy a copy of Libertie, please consider purchasing it from the Read, Write and Create Online bookstore. By doing so, you’re supporting Kaitlyn, the production of our show, and independent booksellers everywhere. 

Don’t forget you can find the full show notes for this episode as well as a heap of useful and fun literary resources including all the info and updates about our first writing retreat for BIPOC women writers on  the Read, Write and Create website at ReadWriteandCreate.com We have only two spots left and registration is ending on July 31 2023. So, if you want to come write with me in the South of Spain in October 2023, get all the details , including how to register, on the RWC website.

Sign up here for the new and improved Read, Write and Create newsletter. In addition to my monthly updates and resources, once a month you’ll get a curated list of contests, grants, jobs, submission requests and more, targeted for BIPOC writers to help you get your words out into the world. 

Please don’t forget to leave us a rating or a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you like to listen to podcasts so more people can find all the literary goodness on this show.

Remember, this is the last episode for the summer. I’ll be back in September.

Until then, keep writing. 

On episode 13, I have another episode from my “Best of…Author Interviews.” My guest is Dr. Yaba Blay, author of the groundbreaking book, One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race. On the show we talk about how One Drop went from being a self-published labor of love and resistance, to arriving on bookshelves with a major publisher seven years later. Dr. Blay talks about what she had to sacrifice to get One Drop out into the world, and why she refused to compromise on her vision for her book.

Dr. Blay is a scholar-activist, public speaker, and cultural consultant whose scholarship, work and practice centers on the lived experiences of Black women and girls, with a particular focus on identity/body politics and beauty practices. Lauded by O Magazine for her social media activism, she has launched several viral campaigns including Locs of Love, #PrettyPeriod, and #ProfessionalBlackGirl, her multi-platform digital community.

Topics we cover in this episode:

• The pros and cons of self-publishing
• Why self-publishing has always been a necessary option for Black writers and other writers from marginalized communities. 
• How self-publishing can be seen as a revolutionary act.
• How One Drop went from self-published to traditionally published with rave reviews
• The difference between colorism and skin color politics
• The origins of the one-drop rule and who it truly benefits
• Why, in the 21st century, are we still policing Blackness?

This is an insightful and inspiring episode, and I’m sure Dr. Blay’s story of perseverance and believing in the merit of her work will leave you #Lit. Plus, there is a happy ending for One Drop!

Links from the Show

If you want to support this show and Dr. Blay, please consider buying a copy of One Drop from the Read, Write and Create online bookstore. 

If you’re in the Philadelphia area, please visit Uncle Bobbie’s Cafe and Books to purchase One Drop and show some love to Dr. Blay’s favorite independent Black-owned bookstore. 

Lori L. Tharps’ book on colorism and skin color politics, mentioned on the show: Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America’s Diverse Families. 

To keep up with Dr. Blay, visit her website YabaBlay.com and follow her on Instagram @YabaBlay

For more information about the first annual Read, Write and Create writing retreat for BIPOC women writers, visit this page on the website. But don’t delay because doors for registration are closing soon. 

Sign up here for the new and improved Read, Write and Create newsletter. Once a month you’ll get a curated list of  contests, grants, jobs, submission requests and more, targeted for BIPOC writers to help you get your words out into the world. 

Please don’t forget to leave us a rating or a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you like to listen to podcasts so more people can find all the literary goodness on this show.

Thank you!

On episode 12 of the podcast, I’m dipping into my podcast archives to bring you one of my favorite author interviews. My guest is novelist Lauren Francis-Sharma. Lauren is a child of Trinidadian immigrants, and is the author of Till the Well Runs Dry and Book of the Little Axe. Lauren’s most recent writings can be found in The Lily, Electric Literature, Barrelhouse, Salon, as well as Marita Golden’s anthology, Us Against Alzheimer’s: Stories of Family Love and Faith.

Lauren is also the Assistant Director of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College, and she is a book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle.

This episode was originally recorded in 2020, just a couple of months after the debut of Book of the Little Axe. 

Book of the Little Axe takes place at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century and tells the story of Rosa Rendon, a Black Trinidadian woman who flees her island home and finds herself living among the Crow Nation in what is now Bighorn, Montana. She becomes the wife of a Crow chief and raises three mixed-race children with the nation. When her son begins to struggle with his identity, Rosa is forced to reckon with her past and so the story unfolds.

During our conversation, Lauren shares how and why she left her career in corporate law to become a novelist, the 10-year journey to getting her first book published, why Trinidad is always a character in her work, and everything that went into writing the epic masterpiece that is, Book of the Little Axe. She also shares the painful truth of what it was like to launch a novel in the early stages of the pandemic. 

This is an insightful and inspiring episode, and I’m sure Lauren’s story of perseverance and pushing through life’s challenges to come out triumphant as an award-winning novelist, will leave you #Lit!

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Just because I’m taking a podcast break for the summer, I still want you to stay inspired to write. So, please enjoy these “Best of… Author Interviews” and keep writing. 

Links from the show:

To learn more about Lauren Francis-Sharma, visit her website at LaurenFrancisSharma.com

To purchase a copy of Book of the Little Axe, visit the Read Write and Create online bookstore powered by Bookshop.org. A purchase from our bookstore supports the production of this podcast and independent booksellers everywhere. 

For more literary resources and inspiration, visit ReadWriteandCreate.com and follow me on Instagram @LoriLTharps and Twitter @ReadWriteCre8.

On episode 11 of the podcast, our last episode of the season, I am giving you a pep talk that will leave you truly lit. Before signing off for the summer, I want to get you fired up and inspired to write, but also give you a source of inspiration you can always go back to when you need that little pick me up. So, I decided to share my secret source for writing inspiration and guidance. It’s the NBA! Yes, I’ve been fashioning my writing career based on the lives and lessons learned from basketball greats like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant. On this episode of the podcast, I’m sharing three key lessons  from these legendary basketball players that every writer should learn. 

• How Should A Writer Care for their Body
• How to Level Up Against the Competition
• How to Handle Rejection and Bad Reviews

Tune in so you can hear these lessons and more about the connections between writing and basketball.

Literary Links from the Show

For more writing resources and inspiration, don’t forget to visit the Read, Write and Create blog and while you’re there, sign up for the Read, Write and Create newsletter.

In honor of this being our last episode of the season, please leave us a rating or a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Read Write and Create Retreat is open for registration and there are still a few spots left! The retreat takes place October 8 - 14, 2023 in Sevilla, Spain.  This retreat has been specifically curated and created for BIPOC women writers who have a writing project they are working on in either fiction or creative nonfiction. We’re staying in a gorgeous country estate, and we’ll be pulling inspiration from Spain’s multicultural history including their hidden Black history. Delicious food, writing instruction, and community awaits you. To find out more and to register, follow this link. 

Let’s stay in touch over the summer: Find me on the socials where I will continue to share my literary life on Instagram and writing opportunities and resources on Twitter.

If you plan on buying some extra good books this summer by BIPOC authors and you want to support this podcast and platform, you can do both things by shopping online at the Read, Write and Create Booktore, powered by Bookshop.org. We have a wonderful selection of diverse books for adults and children, fiction and nonfiction, that will leave you #Lit!

See you in September!  Keep writing!