It was announced yesterday that literary legend Toni Morrison passed away at 88 years old. Toni is my literary idol. She inspired my writing and my teaching. Her work was unapologetically Black and she worked tirelessly to lift up other Black voices. On Twitter yesterday, someone started a thread of Black women’s voices that we need to read in honor of Toni and that is what inspired this post. Here are some Black women YA voices that you shouldn’t sleep on.
PS. This list is no where near complete as I’m sure there are women whom I’ve left off. If you know of any I’ve missed, please share in the comments below.
Brandy Colbert
Nic Stone
Tiffany D. Jackson
Angie Thomas
Justina Ireland
Dhonielle Clayton
Ibi Zoboi
Tomi Adeyemi
Patrice Lawrence
Sharon Draper
LL McKinney
Jacqueline Woodson
Zetta Elliott
Renee Watson
Nnedi Okorafor
Great list! It’s not out till this fall, but I would add GIRLS LIKE US by Randi Pink