Reed, Write, and Create
Tune in to the award-winning, Reed, Write, & Create podcast to hear bite-sized pep-talks for BIPOC writers at every stage of the writing game. Author, educator, and creative writing coach, Lori L. Tharps (award-winning author of ”Hair Story,” ”Kinky Gazpacho,” and ”Substitute Me”) knows how hard it is to stay motivated and inspired to write - whether you’re working on that debut novel, a gut-wrenching memoir, or an essay about your trip around the world. Writing can be your passion, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. On the show, Lori helps writers of color tap into their divine right to write. She shares mindset tips, creativity & writing prompts, and true stories about our literary foremothers and forefathers - Toni Morrison, Lorraine Hansberry, Phillis Wheatley e.t.c. - that will leave you motivated and ready to write. You’ll also hear inspiring interviews with best-selling, BIPOC authors who share actionable writing tips and techniques to help improve your craft and better understand the business of writing and the publishing industry. If the idea of having your very own creative writing coach sounds like just what you need to optimize your writing life, then this is the podcast for you. New episodes are released biweekly on Mondays. Subscribe to the show and find more writing resources for BIPOC writers and the readers who love them at ReedWriteandCreate.com.
Episodes
On episode 31 of the podcast, I have saved the best for last. Our final author interview this season is with the incomparable, American-Book-Award-winning author, Bernice L. McFadden.
Bernice L. McFadden is the author of over a dozen books, including Sugar and Glorious. Her latest novel, Praise Song for the Butterflies, was long listed for the 2019 Women's Prize in Fiction.
McFadden’s novel, The Book of Harlan won the 2017 America...
On episode #30 of the Reed, Write, & Create podcast, we’re doing two things; we’re honoring the late, great James Baldwin, who would be turning 100 years old in 2024, and I'm giving you a pep talk about being an American writer abroad. Yes, I’m sharing the life and times of Mr. James Baldwin to offer you the opportunity to consider what travel can mean for your writing life.
And by the way, if you think we’re going to mostly be...
On episode #29, New York Times bestselling author Sadeaqa Johnson is on the show sharing her inspiring author journey and her practical strategies to living a successful literary life.
Sadeqa Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including Yellow Wife and her latest, The House of Eve, which was the February 2023 Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Sadeqa’s accolades include being a NAACP Image Award nomi...
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 th...
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 ne...
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. S...
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 deli...
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 S...
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 Gabriel...
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 @...
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 Exone...
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 i...
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 ...
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 produc...
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 Hers...
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 delig...
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 examine...
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...
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, L...
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...
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