Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves

NOMINATED FOR AN NAACP IMAGE AWARD ¥ÊAn inspiring collection of essays by black women writers, curated by the founder of the popular book club Well-Read Black Girl, on the importance of recognizing ourselves in literature.

ÒYes,ÊWell-Read Black GirlÊis as good as it sounds. . . . [Glory Edim] gathers an all-star cast of contributorsÑamong them Lynn Nottage, Jesmyn Ward, and Gabourey Sidibe.ÓÑO: The Oprah Magazine

Remember that moment when you first encountered a character who seemed to be written just for you? That feeling of belonging remains with readers the rest of their livesÑbut not everyone regularly sees themselves in the pages of a book. In this timely anthology, Glory Edim brings together original essays by some of our best black women writers to shine a light on how important it is that we allÑregardless of gender, race, religion, or abilityÑhave the opportunity to find ourselves in literature.

Contributors include Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing), Lynn Nottage (Sweat), Jacqueline Woodson (Another Brooklyn), Gabourey Sidibe (This Is Just My Face), Morgan Jerkins (This Will Be My Undoing), Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Rebecca Walker (Black, White and Jewish), and Barbara Smith (Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology)

Whether itÕs learning about the complexities of femalehood from Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison, finding a new type of love in

The Color Purple,

or using mythology to craft an alternative black future, the subjects of each essay remind us why we turn to books in times of both struggle and relaxation. As she has done with her book clubÐturnedÐonline community Well-Read Black Girl, in this anthologyÊGlory Edim has created a space in which black womenÕs writing and knowledge and life experiences are lifted up, to be shared with all readers who value the power of a story to help us understand the world and ourselves.

Praise for Well-Read Black Girl

ÒEach essay can be read as a dispatch from the vast and wonderfully complex location that is black girlhood and womanhood. . . . They present literary encounters that may at times seem private and ordinaryÑhours spent in the childrenÕs section of a public library or in a college classroomÑbut are no less monumental in their impact.Ó

ÑThe Washington Post

ÒA wonderful collection of essays.Ó

ÑEssence