2022 Spotlight on Authors

Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is hosting a webinar “Spotlight on Authors”, a conversation sure to celebrate our uniqueness! We have three local authors who have received national acclaim for their outstanding work. The event is certain to inspire, enlighten, and instill pride in readers of all ages from pre-school thru adulthood. By the end of our time together, you will have a deeper understanding of today’s issues, consider getting involved in making change, and perhaps be motivated to tell your own story.

In the Spotlight, our Authors are:

Sharon Flake was a 2021 finalist for one of the most prestigious awards in publishing, The Kirkus Prize. Her novel, The Life I’m In, is a companion to The Skin I’m In, a book that brought a bold dimension to literature for young readers. Now considered a modern classic, The Skin I’m In has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been translated into numerous languages. The novel is required reading in classrooms and communities around the globe. Since its publication, Flake has authored a dozen books, winning multiple Coretta Scott King Honor Awards; ALA Notable and Top Ten Recommended Books citations, and an NAACP Image Award Nomination, among many accolades. Her latest novel, The Life I’m In, has been deemed one of the most anticipated sequels of the decade, named a top ten read for teens and one of the seven best audios for young people.

Yona Harvey is the author of two poetry collections, You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love, winner of the Believer Book Award for Poetry, and Hemming the Water, winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She contributed to Marvel’s World of Wakanda, a companion series to the bestselling Black Panther comic, and co-wrote with Ta-Nehisi Coates Marvel’s Black Panther and The Crew.

Damon Young is a writer, critic, and satirist. His debut memoir What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir In Essays (Ecco/HarperCollins) won the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor and Barnes & Noble’s 2019 Discover Award. It was also longlisted for the PEN America Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award, nominated for both an NAACP Image Award and a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and is a Krause Essay Prize nominee. NPR, which named it one of the best books of 2019, called it an “outstanding collection of nonfiction.” Damon’s also the co-founder of the culture blog VerySmartBrothas, was a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, a columnist for GQ, and has written for The Atlantic, Esquire, Time Magazine, NY Mag, The Undefeated, EBONY, and The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Young is also the creator and host of a forthcoming podcast with Crooked Media.