On episode 53 of the Reed, Write, & Create podcast, we’re going Behind the Book with David Ruggles, founder of the first Black-owned bookstore in the United States. D. Ruggles Books set the precedent for Black-owned bookstores to become community spaces for freedom and liberation.

We’re going Behind the Book on the Reed, Write, & Create podcast with Sylvia Arthur, founder of the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora (LOATAD), a private library in Accra, Ghana. Learn how and why Sylvia decided to turn her personal library into a “shrine” to her literary ancestors, and open the doors to everyone.

The Reed, Write, & Create podcast is back for Season five, and we’re going behind the book to share the stories of people whose work depends on the free circulation of books in society. Our first guest is Emely Rumble, a bibliotherapist from the Bronx.

The world’s first Global Book Crawl was a big success! From Iceland to Malaysia, independent bookstores joined forces to beat the big box stores, build community, and create a lot of bookish fun for their customers.

Generative AI is everywhere, but is it inevitable? Find out why generative AI poses a threat to writers, creatives and the planet. But more importantly, what can writers do to prevent being replaced by “plagiarism software.”

Why do we celebrate World Book Day on April 23? And is it really a global holiday? Find out the history of this totally lit holiday and where and how it is celebrated in different countries across the globe.

What happens during a one-month writing residency in Accra, Ghana? My experience as a writer-in-residence at the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora was thirty days of literary bliss.

If you like reading women’s fiction, book club fiction, and domestic dramas, then you will love this list of books by African Authors. Find your next great read here.

Today, in 2025, celebrity book clubs are all the rage. Thanks Oprah. But despite the popularity of this literary trend, there are very few book clubs run by BIPOC celebrities. Who would be the best BIPOC celebrities to start a book club?

In the Spring of 2025, I’m going to Ghana to be a resident writer at the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora. These are the five reasons why I’m so excited for this global, literary adventure.

Have you thought about creating a writing altar to inject some inspiration, creativity and joy into your writing practice? Learn how to build a writing altar, and how to use your writing altar to help you stay committed to your writing goals this year.

It’s been 65 years since her death, and we’re still celebrating Zora Neale Hurston in 2025. With a new book out, The Life of Herod the Great, and a new festival, Zora is still giving us so much to talk about.

These are the BIPOC writers we lost in 2024. They will all be greatly missed, but we are thankful for the literary legacies they leave behind.

Journalist and cultural critic, Rebecca Carroll has a new book out called, I Know What the Red Clay Looks Like. On the podcast, Rebecca shares the remarkable story of how that incredible book of interviews with famous Black writers got written, and then re-issued 30 years later. It all comes down to the power of Black women’s stories.

Arturo Schomburg was more than a collector of Black memorabilia. He was a bibliophile, a writer, and an incredible historian. Most importantly, Schomburg understood the power of the written word to leave a legacy.

N. Scott Momaday was the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his novel, House Made of Dawn. But his real passion was oral storytelling.

Do you have a reading hobby or a reading habit? If you want to improve your craft as a writer, then you need to be reading with purpose and intention. Learn the steps you need to take to cultivate a sustainable reading habit that will make you a better writer.

Danzy Senna’s new novel, Colored Television, offers a darkly comic send-up of the writing life. But it also seems to be in conversation with R.F. Kuang’s, Yellowface. What cautionary tales are these two books sharing with BIPOC writers?

Veronica Chambers has some good advice for emerging and established BIPoC writers. On episode 39 of the Reed, Write, & Create podcast, Chambers, a New York Times bestselling author of more than 25 books, shares the secrets to her literary success. Plus, she shares the process, pain, and pleasure of writing historical fiction in her new novel, Ida in Love and in Trouble.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a Mexican poet, born in the 17th century. She was so determined to live a literary life, she gave up her freedom and became a nun, just so she could spend her days writing. What other literary lessons can we learn from this iconic writer, feminist, and literary ancestor?