Black Creatives Revisions Workshop

Trae Hawkins (Young Adult Novel) was born in Texas, raised in Virginia, went to high school in New York, and attended Penn State University. He draws inspiration from real-world issues, such as historical oppression, mental health, and LGBTQ+ issues, and incorporates them into his writing, which typically falls under the fantasy and science fiction umbrellas. He majored in Political Science and English, and in his free time, he likes to read, write, draw, play video games, and watch anime. On any given day, you can find him doing any of the aforementioned things in the name of procrastination. His life goal is to be able to share his writings with the world and to give everyone a sneak peek into the workings of his brain. He believes that creators have the ability to change the world through their art, and he yearns to make the world better through his writing.

After graduating from Dartmouth College, Erika J (Middle Grade Novel) spent several years working as a biomedical engineer at Johnson Space Flight Center and as a mechanical engineer at Kennedy Space Flight Center.  She then pursued a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Florida Inst. of Technology and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.  She presently works as an oceanographer and is passionate about turbulence in oceans and rivers. Having spent nearly two decades working as an engineer in many different fields, Erika is committed to encouraging young girls to pursue careers in math and science through the medium of story.  She believes that women and people of color possess inherent skills and creativity that qualify them to make extraordinary contributions in these fields.  Her goal is to demonstrate that, more than innate ability, it takes rugged determination to be successful in math and science. Erika is a native of Baltimore County, Maryland and in her free time she enjoys writing, drawing comics, and playing golf.  

Ashley Jordan (she/her) (Adult Novel) is a millennial from Atlanta, by way of Brooklyn, with great affection for narratives that explore the full humanity of women. Raised by a group of phenomenal Black women, it was in watching them navigate the world that she became most interested in their lives. Her upbringing, along with the inimitable experience of attending Spelman College, have only further shaped her belief in the power of Black women’s stories. Ashley currently works as a data analyst in public health, but has had a love for writing since penning her first short story in second grade. It is when she recently tried her hand at fanfiction that she recognized her creativity could be more than a hobby. If Ashley isn’t writing, she is working toward her MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; or more likely, she is on Twitter, stanning for Beyoncé and/or rambling about anything else she’s currently obsessed with.

Ashton Lattimore (Adult Novel) is a longtime writer and editor whose work lives at the intersections of racial justice, gender justice, culture, and the law. She's a recovering lawyer who's gratefully returned to the writing fold after several years away, and embraces storytelling in all its power to reshape the world and spark joy at the same time. By day, Ashton is the editor-in-chief at Prism, a nonprofit national news outlet. In her spare time, she's working on her first novel, a work of historical fiction exploring ideas of freedom, family, and friendship in 1830s Philadelphia. Ashton's work has been published by the Washington Post, Slate, CNN, Essence, and other outlets. She's a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Journalism School. She lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two sons.

Ebonie Ledbetter (Adult Novel) is a creative writer from Atlanta. She has written articles for publications such as Clutch, The Root, and Essence. Ebonie is the editor of two textbooks: Perspectives on Modern World History: Hurricane Katrina and Media Bias: Introducing Issues with Opposing Viewpoints. She is an English teacher and freelance editor who resides in South Florida. Her goal in life is to become financially stable enough to give a puppy a decent home. 

Ashleigh Martin (Young Adult Novel) is a Program Librarian from Dallas, Texas that enjoys creating unique programming for middle grade children and patrons of all ages. She received her Master’s in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University and a Bachelor’s in English, with a Children’s Literature focus, from Stephen F. Austin State University. From writing reviews for the library’s book blog, to attending the latest librarianship conferences, Ashleigh remains immersed and dedicated to the work libraries do to foster a lifelong love of reading in children and decreasing the digital divide. In her spare time, she enjoys reading (of course), writing, running her online loose-leaf tea business, and playing Fortnite with her partner.

True Michelle (YA Novel) is a fantasy and speculative fiction writer committed to penning stories that explore the capacity and aliveness of black youth. She holds an MA in Africana Studies and is now pursuing a PhD in the same. Her studies inform much of her creative writing around themes of social life and death, intimacy, belonging, and trauma. True has a YouTube channel called Britt Writerly which curates conversations about the relationship between books and culture and showcases original content. As a Black writer, she is dedicated both to the craft of storytelling and the necessary dialogue strong narratives incite.

Latina Ramsey (Middle Grade Novel) was born and raised in New York and now resides in North Carolina.  She has been an educator for the past 27 years and started her career as a middle school math teacher then moved down to elementary school. She’s been writing children’s stories since she was 10-years-old when her teacher gave her a yellow legal pad.She is an avid reader of non-fiction (history, ancient history, animals, nature) and of course children’s books. In her spare time she likes to read, write, and to wind down she plays her favorite online game; Candy Crush. 

Stephanie Raye (Adult Novel) was born in Selma, AL. Having spent most of her adolescent years writing lyrics, poems and short stories, she refined her talent by taking creative writing college courses where she was awarded the Consulate General Award for the Donghwa Cultural Foundation’s East Meets West International Essay competition. She earned a B.A. in Communications and Information Sciences from The University of Alabama and is currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Student Affairs in Higher Education. She currently works as a data specialist in Education. When she’s not writing, Stephanie enjoys watching Korean variety shows, reading nonfiction and polishing her meme and GIF collection.

S.P. Rose (Young Adult Novel) was born in Brooklyn, NY to Trinidadian immigrants, and now resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband. After teaching English for more than seven years, at high schools in America and South Korea, S.P. is now pursuing a career in creative writing. A fan of fantasy, she loves to imagine new worlds inspired by her home culture, and creates narratives that uplifts her community. In her writing, she addresses themes and trauma that haunt Afro-Caribbean and African-American history, and hopes through the power of storytelling, she can promote POC Voices. At the completion of her master’s degree in Multicultural and Transnational literature at East Carolina University, she developed a local non-profit organization, Writing For Freedom, dedicated to the mental and spiritual healing of girls and young women of color through creative writing. When she is not writing a story or working on her non-profit, S.P. can usually be found doodling original character designs, reading a fantasy or historical fiction novel, or catching up on the latest anime.

P.C. Verrone (Adult Novel) is a writer, theatrical artist, and storyteller born in Los Angeles, California. As a queer, Black, mixed-race storyteller, he writes to explore and uplift underrepresented facets of American culture and history. He graduated from Harvard College. His plays have been presented by the Blank Theater, The Custom Made Theater, Urbanite Theater, and Native Voices. His digital series A Queer History of American Food was produced by Center Theatre Group in 2021. He was recently awarded a 2021-2022 Many Voices Fellowship by the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He currently lives in Harlem and, when he isn’t writing, enjoys baking with his fiancé. Find him on Twitter at @pcverrone and Instagram @pat.the.carroll.

Alyn Wallace (Adult Novel) is the Acquisitions and Editorial Assistant at BenBella Books. A graduate of Harvard University, with a joint concentration, magna cum laude, in Folklore & Mythology and Government, she lives in New Orleans. Prior to working at BenBella, she was on a purposeful travel fellowship in South Korea, dancing at 1Million. She’s written a thesis on the relationship of pop culture, politics, and identity in South Korea; penned a novel; plays the ukulele; enjoys random facts; sings all the time; favors the color yellow; and thinks that picking a favorite book is far too exclusionary. She has at least a thousand books in her room and, soon, those will include the ones she’s edited and written.