About the Authors
Akiba Solomon is senior editorial director of Colorlines and an NABJ Award-winning journalist and editor whose writing on culture, race, gender, and reproductive health has appeared in Essence, Dissent, Glamour, Vibe, and Ebony, among other outlets. She is the co-editor of Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts. She has spoken about women’s and social justice issues at institutions including the Schomburg Center, Stanford, Yale, and Harvard. She is a graduate of Howard University.
Kenrya Rankin is an award-winning author, journalist, editorial consultant, and the editorial director at Colorlines. Her work has appeared in dozens of national publications, including the New York Times, Glamour, Reader’s Digest, and Fast Company. She is the author of four books, including Bet on Black: African-American Women Celebrate Fatherhood in the Age of Barack Obama. She is a graduate of Howard University and New York University.
About the Narrators
Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Effing Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Princess Diana, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson, and received an Edgar Award, nine Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
Brad Raymond is a narrator of audiobooks known for his Earphones Award–winning reading of Respect, the biography of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, among others.
Danielle Deadwyler is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.
James Fouhey is an actor and narrator living in New York City. He received classical training at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He has recorded more than forty audiobooks across a variety of genres, including science fiction, romance, young adult fiction, and children’s fiction.
Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over two hundred recorded audiobooks. His narrations have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the prestigious Audie Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
Aaron Landon began acting in Portland, Oregon, as a child, where he studied the Meisner technique and acted in local theater, film, and commercials. He narrated his first audiobook at the age of nine. After booking roles in NBC’s Grimm and the feature film Gone with Amanda Seyfried, Aaron moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to pursue acting and full-time voiceover work. You have likely heard him voicing promos for Jimmy Kimmel Live and NBC Sports Net, as well as national commercials for Bing, CenturyLink, Warrior Dash, and Fanvision.