Alicia D. Williams - Click to see all titles by this author.

“I want to let my readers know they can go through difficult things and that they will be okay. I write stories to empower kids.”

Alicia D. Williams – Newbery honoree and winner of the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent – grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She earned a B.A. in African American Studies from the University of Kentucky, trained in theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, and completed her graduate degree at Hamline University. Alicia has performed stand-up comedy and sketch comedy, and has acted in commercials and plays. She has also been a teacher: her love of education stems from conducting school residencies as a Master Teaching Artist of arts-integration.

In her writing and teaching, Alicia uses the rhythm of folktales while blending her love of storytelling, movement, laughter, and drama to inspire students to write. Exposing the issues of racism, colorism, and adolescent cruelty, she creates the stories she needed to hear as a child. It ‘s important to her to put the narrative back in the hands of children today: “I want this whole engagement of bringing back the storytelling and oral traditions, and sharing them and having fun with them.”

Alicia is a very proud mother of a brilliant college student, and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. She loves chunky guacamole, shiny things, good stories, Wonder Woman, traveling, and laughing.