Derrick Barnes is a National Book Award Finalist for his 2022 graphic novel Victory Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice, which also won the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award, and a Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers.In 2020, he became the only author to have won the Kirkus Prize twice for his twelfth release, the New York Times bestseller I Am Every Good Thing. The title also won a Charlotte Huck Award (NCTE), and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor.Derrick is also the creator of the New York Times Bestselling companion picture books, The King of Kindergarten (2019) and the Queen of Kindergarten (2022). He is a graduate of Jackson State University (BA-Marketing ’99) and was the first Black male creative copywriter hired by greeting cards giant Hallmark Cards. Derrick is a native of Kansas City, MO, but currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Dr. Tinka Barnes, and their four sons, the Mighty Barnes Brothers.Purchase Like Lava in my Veins here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Kelly Rowland is a four-time Grammy Award–winning singer, songwriter, actress, and executive producer with over 40 million records sold. She’s known worldwide as a founding member of Destiny’s Child, one of the bestselling female groups of all time. Kelly is also the coauthor of Whoa, Baby!: A Guide for New Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed and Freaked Out (and Wonder What the #*$& Just Happened). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Please visit kellyrowland.com.Jessica MCKay is an educator living in Los Angeles with her husband and three children. While juggling work, family, and self, Jessica has always saved time to read. As an English teacher, she shares her passion for literature with her students. As a mother, she shares her love of books with her children. And now, as an author, she is sharing her first book with the world.Purchase Always With You, Always With Me here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Shauntay Grant is an author, poet, playwright, and multimedia artist. Her love of literature stretches back to her storytelling roots in Nova Scotia's historic Black communities.Shauntay holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University. A former poet laureate for the City of Halifax, her honors include a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, and a Poet Of Honor prize from the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shauntay shares her blend of words and music internationally at festivals and events and collaborates with visual artists and art galleries to create poetry-themed artworks, installations, and exhibitions.Learn more about her at shauntaygrant.com.Purchase My Fade is Fresh here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Cynthia Harmony is an author and educational psychologist, originally from Mexico City. She has published for the educational market and was awarded the 2020 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship. Her debut picture book MI CIUDAD SINGS is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her board book OUR WORLD: MEXICO published by Barefoot Books, releases Spring 2023. Her upcoming picture book A FLICKER OF HOPE (2024) will be released simultaneously in English and Spanish. ​When not writing, Cynthia can be found in a museum with her kids, dancing to a Latin beat, daydreaming of tacos, or planning her next family trip.Cynthia’s books explore themes of community, friendship, family bonds, art, and joy rooted in her heritage.Purchase Mi Cuidad Sings here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Ali Biko Sulaiman Kamanda is an award-winning filmmaker and social entrepreneur from Sierra Leone, West Africa. He runs BIKO Studios, a cross-cultural film production company and is the President of Salone Rising, a non-profit organization that provides micro-financing and mentoring resources to small business owners in rural Sierra Leone.Jorge (pronounced George) Redmond graduated in 2000 with a degree in Communication Studies, he played soccer professionally in France and Cameroon before returning to the Asheville, North Carolina area as a coach and teacher, including at his alma mater when the Rams won the state title in 2002.  In 2008, Jorge decided that he wanted to be an attorney. He attended John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, graduated and passed the Georgia bar in 2011. Jorge currently works in the Buncombe County District Attorney's office as an Assistant District Attorney, and as an adjunct professor in South College's Legal Department. Ali and Jorge are college friends, and BLACK BOY, BLACK BOY is their debut book.Purchase Black Boy, Black Boy here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Tacko Fall emigrated from Senegal as a teenager to play basketball and rose to prominence when he was selected by the Boston Celtics and became a seven-foot-six ball-playing sensation. He has played for the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.In addition to basketball, Tacko Fall is a scholar, and he has a strong interest in computer science and aspires to be an engineer.Justin Haynes is a sports agent at BDA Sports Management, where he represents Tacko Fall and other players. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and family.Purchase To New Heights here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Jyoti Rajan Gopal is a writer, mom, and Kindergarten teacher. Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, and China. Twenty-eight years ago, she moved to New York and now lives in Yonkers in a quirky old Victorian, with her husband and two daughters. Her favorite place in the house is the wrap around porch where she loves to gather with family or friends, read, write, and drink coffee.Supriya is an author, illustrator, and screenwriter who grew up in the Midwest, where she learned Hindi as a child by watching three Hindi movies a week. Winner of the New Visions Award for her middle grade novel AHIMSA, (Tu Books, 2017), Supriya has worked on the writing teams for several Hindi films and she is the author of several middle grade and picture books.Purchase American Desi here.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

Rob Kearney is an American Professional Strongman as well as the first and only openly gay professional strongman in the world. Rob decided to compete in the Heavyweight class where he took 1st place in the 2016 Log Lift World Championships and has gone on to compete at World’s Strongest Man. Rob is a Giants Live Champion (North American Open 2017) as well as an Arnold International World Series Champion (Australia 2019). Along with Strongman, Rob and his Husband Joey have become advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. Together, they hope to break the Stereotype of how the LGBTQ+ community is perceived and show the world that regardless of your sexual orientation or gender identity you can be strong and follow your passions.Eric Rosswood is an author and commentator on LGBTQ issues including civil rights, parenting, marriage, and politics. He has led panels on LGBTQ parenting issues for organizations such as the Family Equality Council and the Modern Family Alliance.His bestselling book, Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood, won numerous awards including the best Parenting/Family/Relationships book in the IAN Book of the Year Awards, the best Parenting book in the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, and the best LGBTQ Non-Fiction book in the International Best Book Awards. Eric is represented for his children’s books by Jennifer Mattson at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.Books mentioned in this episode:Purchase Strong here.Purchase I Color Myself Different here. Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

In response to a recent post in my Instagram stories, I’m talking about the positive and negative impacts social media has had on my life over the past seven years.Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!

This episode is a recording of a live interview that took place on April 13th on the campus of DreamWorks Animation Studio in Glendale, California. I had the incredible opportunity to interview the author and executive producer of the movie The Bad Guys, Aaron Blabey and the director Pierre Perifel in-person after watching a private screening of the movie.Thank you to Universal Pictures for making this possible.Purchase I Color Myself Different here. Connect with Charnaie online in the following places:Blog: http://hereweeread.comPersonal Website: charnaiegordon.comPodcast Email Address: [email protected] Charnaie on the following social media platforms under the username @hereweeread: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.Feel free to share this podcast on your social media platforms to help spread the word to others. Thanks for listening!