Black & Published
Nikesha Elise Williams
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Top 10 Black & Published Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Black & Published episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Black & Published for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Black & Published episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
You Should be Horrified with Zakiya Dalila Harris
Black & Published
06/28/22 • 45 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Zakiya Dalila Harris, author of the novel, The Other Black Girl. Zakiya spent nearly three years in editorial at Knopf/Doubleday before leaving to write her debut novel. Prior to working in publishing, Zakiya received her MFA in creative writing from The New School. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Guernica, and The Rumpus.
During the conversation, Zakiya discusses how the main setting of her novel is really a placeholder for any white/male dominated industry. The liberation she found in her big chop and how those feelings of hair tangled themselves in her fiction, and why she believes some of the circumstances of Black life in America are still absolutely horrifying.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
1 Listener
Deeply Profound with Honorée Fannone Jeffers
Black & Published
02/08/22 • 47 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Honorée Fannone Jeffers, author of the epic novel,The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois. Honorée is also the author of five critically acclaimed books of poetry, including the award-winning collection, The Age of Phillis, based on the life and times of Phillis Wheatley Peters.
Episode Notes
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On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Honorée Fannone Jeffers, author of the epic novel,The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois. Honorée is also the author of five critically acclaimed books of poetry, including the award-winning collection, The Age of Phillis, based on the life and times of Phillis Wheatley Peters.
During the conversation, Honorée discusses why she never wanted to world to see her fiction, building her confidence in the craft, and recognizing the profound brilliance she carries as a Black woman no matter how she shows up in the world.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
1 Listener
No More Nice Girls with C.M. Lockhart
Black & Published
01/10/23 • 48 min
This week on Black and Published, Nikesha speaks with C.M. Lockhart, author of the novel, We Are the Origin. C.M. (also known as Chelsea) is a Black writer of fantasy. She loves creating worlds, exploring relationships, and writing stories about Black girls who aren't all that nice. She is the founder of Written in Melanin LLC — which encompasses a weekly podcast and YouTube channel as well as an online database of books written by Black authors.
In our conversation C.M. discusses the reprieve she finds in writing high fantasy. How creating a world run by a goddess and four god lovers helped her work out her own questions of faith, spirituality, and religion. And how she returned to writing at the lowest point in her life.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
1 Listener
Black Girl Magic with Tina Wells & Stephanie Smith
Black & Published
06/08/21 • 51 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with marketing maven Tina Wells and journalist and author of 300 Sandwiches: A Multi-Layered Love Story , Stephanie Smith. Tina and Stephanie have been friends and collaborators for 15 years. Their current project is the middle-grade fiction series The Zee Files published by West Margin Press and available at Target.
Episode Notes
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with marketing maven Tina Wells and journalist and author of 300 Sandwiches: A Multi-Layered Love Story , Stephanie Smith. Tina and Stephanie have been friends and collaborators for 15 years. Their current project is the middle-grade fiction series The Zee Files published by West Margin Press and available at Target.
The Zee Files is a spin-off of Tina's first middle-grade fiction series Mackenzie Blue which was published by Harper Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, starting in 2013. During the interview, Tina and Stephanie explain how Mackenzie Blue has been updated for a new generation in The Zee Files. They also discuss why the series is so important for the representation of young Black girls to see themselves reflected on the page.
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Follow @Nikesha_Elise on Twitter and Instagram and check out her latest novel Beyond Bourbon Street available everywhere books are sold.
Don't forget to subscribe to Black & Published on your podcast platform of choice as well as rate and review. If you have thoughts, feedback, or questions about the episode, hit us up at @blkandpublished on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #blackandpublished.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Bonus: Writing Past Rejection with Nikesha Elise Williams
Black & Published
10/23/24 • 48 min
In this bonus episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is sharing her story about becoming a writer and finding her way in the publishing industry. From exploring and utilizing both traditional and independent avenues, Nikesha discusses when she knew she was a writer, the 7-year-long journey of publishing her debut novel, Four Women, founding her company, NEW Reads Publications, and how she has kept going despite lots of rejection to publish four more novels, a poetry collection, and four other authors in addition to doing all the things in life, love, career, and the pursuit of dreams.
No One is Looking for Your Book with Roy Glenn
Black & Published
02/02/21 • 74 min
In this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with author, Roy Glenn, about his long career that started when he self-published his debut novel, Is it a Crime, in 1994 in part as a response to Waiting to Exhale. Glenn, who is a multi-genre author and is known as the master of suspense, has published more than 70 novels both independently and traditionally.
Episode Notes
In this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with author, Roy Glenn, about his long career that started when he self-published his debut novel, Is it a Crime, in 1994 in part as a response to Waiting to Exhale. Glenn, who is a multi-genre author and is known as the master of suspense, has published more than 70 novels both independently and traditionally.
Roy talks to Nikesha about how he made the jump into mainstream publishing with Carl Weber in the early 2000s, why distribution is king, how he finessed his books into Barnes & Noble, and why after all these years he prefers the art of independent publishing. Glenn also reads from his novel, Changed Man, which is getting the film treatment thanks to a new deal with Vision Quest Productions.
***
Follow @Nikesha_Elise on Twitter and Instagram and check out her latest novel Beyond Bourbon Street available everywhere books are sold.
Don't forget to subscribe to Black & Published on your podcast platform of choice as well as rate and review. If you have thoughts, feedback, or questions about the episode, hit us @blkandpublished on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #blackandpublished.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Because I Write with Rosamond S. King
Black & Published
04/13/21 • 51 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with creative, critical writer, poet, and performer Rosamond S. King about her new poetry collection, All The Rage. The collection was inspired by the lack of indictments handed down in the death of Eric Garner who was killed by police officers in New York in 2014. From that singular incident she crafted a collection set in the fictional world of the abattoir to discuss Black joy and Black pain living in tandem. She sees the collection as an extension of her work as a literary scholar and all around writer be it academic, poetic, or for the love of writing.
Episode Notes
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with creative, critical writer, poet, and performer Rosamond S. King about her new poetry collection, All The Rage. The collection was inspired by the lack of indictments handed down in the death of Eric Garner who was killed by police officers in New York in 2014. From that singular incident she crafted a collection set in the fictional world of the abattoir to discuss Black joy and Black pain living in tandem. She sees the collection as an extension of her work as a literary scholar and all around writer be it academic, poetic, or for the love of writing. During the discussion, Rosamond revealed how she discovered self-publishing was not for her and the advice she gives all young writers on rejection and making money as a literary artist. She also shares her "A Ha" moment of when she discovered she was a "Writer" and why it is her goal in this life to never repeat herself.
***
Follow @Nikesha_Elise on Twitter and Instagram and check out her latest novel Beyond Bourbon Street available everywhere books are sold.
Don't forget to subscribe to Black & Published on your podcast platform of choice as well as rate and review. If you have thoughts, feedback, or questions about the episode, hit us up at @blkandpublished on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #blackandpublished.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Everyman is a Black Woman with M Shelly Conner
Black & Published
07/20/21 • 70 min
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with M Shelly Conner about her debut novel, everyman. M Shelly is a Chicago native who spent her summers bouncing between her grandmother in Memphis and relatives in Los Angeles, reveling in the sprawl of the Great Migration. That sprawl informs the work in everyman which M Shelly began working on first in 2005 and seriously during her PhD program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. An excerpt of everyman appears in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora. M Shelly is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas and lives in Arkansas with her wife and their dog Whiskey.
Episode Notes
On this episode of Black & Published, Nikesha is speaking with M Shelly Conner about her debut novel, everyman. M Shelly is a Chicago native who spent her summers bouncing between her grandmother in Memphis and relatives in Los Angeles, reveling in the sprawl of the Great Migration. That sprawl informs the work in everyman which M Shelly began working on first in 2005 and seriously during her PhD program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. An excerpt of everyman appears in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora. M Shelly is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Central Arkansas and lives in Arkansas with her wife and their dog Whiskey. Over the course of the conversation M Shelly discusses the novel that made her want to get better at writing, crafting an epic generational story, and unpacking the so-called "phases" of life our parents' and grandparents' generation had knowledge of but never talked about.
***
Follow @Nikesha_Elise on Twitter and Instagram and check out her latest novel Beyond Bourbon Street available everywhere books are sold.
Don't forget to subscribe to Black & Published on your podcast platform of choice as well as rate and review. If you have thoughts, feedback, or questions about the episode, hit us up at @blkandpublished on Twitter and Instagramusing the hashtag #blackandpublished.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
Free Rein to Write with Shannon Sanders
Black & Published
05/07/24 • 45 min
This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Shannon Sanders, author of the short story collection, Company. A lawyer by trade, Shannon came to crafting her award-winning collection after attending several writing workshops and having to produce on a deadline.
In our conversation, Shannon explains why she thinks about what's enjoyable for her reader as she's creating new work. Plus, what she believes it means to leave an inheritance and legacy in the Black community. And, how eavesdropping helps her accurately excavate the interior lives of bougie Black folk.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
From the Stage to the Page with Rudy Francisco
Black & Published
04/30/24 • 44 min
This week on Black & Published, Nikesha speaks with Rudy Francisco, author of the poetry collection, Excuse Me As I Kiss the Sky. Rudy is a renowned spoken word artist who has published two previous collections: Helium (2017) and I'll Fly Away (2020). As a spoken word artist, Rudy said taking his work from the stage to the page allowed him to grow and write about more than one topic.
In our conversation, Rudy explains how he tries to show the accuracy of his humanity instead of a balance between joy and pain, happiness or sadness. Plus, the reason he believes the rift between poets who focus on writing and spoken word artists is closing. And, how his jump to the page was thanks to a few friends who turned their YouTube channel into a publishing house.
Follow the Show:
IG: @blkandpublished
Twitter: @BLKandPublished
Follow Me:
IG: @nikesha_elise
Twitter: @Nikesha_Elise
Website: www.newwrites.com
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FAQ
How many episodes does Black & Published have?
Black & Published currently has 148 episodes available.
What topics does Black & Published cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts, Books and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Black & Published?
The episode title 'You Should be Horrified with Zakiya Dalila Harris' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Black & Published?
The average episode length on Black & Published is 48 minutes.
How often are episodes of Black & Published released?
Episodes of Black & Published are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Black & Published?
The first episode of Black & Published was released on Jan 11, 2021.
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