Christian Robinson (1986) is an award winning illustrator, best known for "Last Stop on Market Street" which won a Coretta Scott King and Newbery Award. His 16 other works garnered more awards including the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award and IRA Teachers’ Choice.

Photo Credit: John Kwiatkowski

Ashley Bryan (1923) Throughout a sweeping career, Bryan has sought to preserve African-American spirituals, folk tales, and literary and oral traditions through art. Bryan has published over 50 books, received more than 24 honors and awards, as well as 11 honorary degrees.

Leo and Diane Dillon (1933) were American book illustrators, their work including children's books, magazine covers and adult books. Over the course of 50 years they have created over 100 book and magazine covers together. They have received many honors including the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award in 2003 and 2005.

John Steptoe (1950 -1989) was an illustrator and author of children's books. Most of his works focus on the variety of the African-American experience. His most known for his work "Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters", which is considered a breakthrough in African culture and history by literary critics.

Photo credit: James Ropiequet Schmidt

Author Andrea Davis Pinkney (1963) and Illustrator Brian Pinkney (1961) have created over 20 children books during their 30 year relationship. Their award winning works center on African-American culture and stories.

Photo credit: Christine Simmons

Fredrick and Patricia McKissack (1944-2017) have written more than 50 books, ranging from picture books, biographies, books for beginners and information texts. Fred, a former civil engineer and Patricia, a teacher both chose to dedicate their life to writing. They were awarded the Coretta Scott King Award and the Jane Addams Peace Award for their book "A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter Patricia".

Sharon Mills Draper (1948) is a professional educator turned children’s author. In 1997, she was named National Teacher of the year. She has won the Corbett’s Scott King Award for her books on African-American adolescent experiences.

E.B Lewis (1956) is known for his illustrations in such titles as "The Other Side", "Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis", and "Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman". Lewis received the Caldecott Honor Award in 2004 and won New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award in 2016.

Born in New York City, Nikki Grimes (1950) is a New York Times bestselling author. The recipient of numerous awards, one of the most noteworthy being the ALAN award for outstanding contributions in the field of literature. Grimes is a prolific author, poet, and artist.

Photo Credit: Aaron Lemen

Jacqueline Woodson (1963) is a prolific writer of books for young children and adolescents. The recipient of numerous awards for her many publications, Woodson served as the Young People's Poet Laureate from the year 2015 to 2017 and was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Photo Credit: Marty Umans

Bryan Collier (1967) is a writer of children’s books but is best known for his illustration work with books of the same genre. A testament to his outstanding skills, he has won both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for Uptown, which is the first book he ever wrote and illustrated.

Photo credit: The Picture Book Review

Christopher Paul Curtis (1953) is a renowned children’s book author. His most notable works include the award winning “Bud, Not Buddy” and “The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963” One of five siblings, Curtis was born and raised in Flint, Michigan which would surface in a few of his works like “The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963” and “Bucking the Sarge”.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Beall

Kwame Alexander (1968) is a poet and author of children’s fiction. Remarkably, his award winning verse novel “The Crossover” was recognized as the year 2015 “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” A recipient of numerous awards, he has also received the Coretta Scott King Award and the Newbery Medal.

Photo credit: Larry D. Moore

Vashti Harrison (1988) was born to an African American father and Indian-Trinidadian mother. She is best known for "Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History", which tells the story of 40 women who shaped history. Her book "Sulwe" won an NAACP Image Award.

Photo credit: Caroline Tompkins

Walter Dean Myers (1937) is a prolific and award-winning author of books for children. His son, Christopher Myers (1974) followed in his father’s path and is an accomplished author and illustrator. Working together or alone, the two have amassed countless youth literature awards.

Virginia Hamilton (1936) wrote 41 books across genres, including "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry", winning won every major award in youth literature. Woven into her books is a deep concern with memory, tradition, and generational legacy, as they define the lives of African Americans.

Varian Johnson (1977) born in South Carolina, is the author of nine novels, including "The Parker Inheritance", which won a Coretta Scott King Honor in 2019 and Boston Globe Horn Book Honor Award among other accolades. Johnson is on faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Photo credit: Larry D. Moore

Jason Reynolds (1983) was born in Washington, D.C. and found inspiration in rap. His first two novels, "When I Was The Greatest and Long Way Down", won many awards. Reynolds was named as the Library of Congress' National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in January 2020.

Photo credit: Shawn Miller

Rita Williams-Garcia (1957) won a Newbery Honor Award and Coretta Scott King Award, for her book "One Crazy Summer" in 2011. The two sequels won Coretta Scott King Awards in 2014 & 2016. In 2017, her book "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Beall

Jewell Parker Rhodes (1954) is the Piper Endowed Chair of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University and author of books for including, "Ghost Boys", which has garnered over 25 awards and "The Ninth Ward", winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor Award.

Angela Johnson (1961) is a prolific author, winning three Coretta Scott King Awards, one each for her novels "The First Part Last", "Heaven", and "Toning the Sweep". In recognition of her outstanding talent, Angela was named a 2003 MacArthur Fellow.

Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Zetta Elliott (1972) is a Black feminist Canadian-American writer whose work addresses recovering from urban violence and other challenging issues. She won an Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Illustrator for her book "Bird", and a 2009 Paterson Prize for Book for Young Readers.

Photo courtesy of the author

Kekla Magoon (1980) is the author of many books for young readers, including "The Season of Styx Malone" and "The Rock and the River". Among her many accolades are an NAACP Image Award, the John Steptoe New Talent Award, and 3 Coretta Scott King Honors.

JaNay Brown-Wood works as an ECE professor at American River College, along with writing books for children. Her first picture book "Imani’s Moon" won the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award. Her second book "Grandma's Tiny House" was a Bank Street Books Best book of 2018.

Kadir Nelson (1974) is an artist whose work for children is focused on African-American culture and history. Nelson won numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King Author Award in 2004 for "Ellington Was Not a Street" and a Caldecott Honor in 2008 for "Henry’s Freedom Box".

Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was an American poet from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. She won a Coretta Scott King Award in 1984 for "Everett Anderson’s Long Goodbye", a moving story about a young man dealing with his father’s death.

Shane Evans illustrated many books, including "The Way A Door Closes", for which he won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. His accolades range from being honored by First Lady Laura Bush in 2002, to the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction for Children.

Renée Watson (1978) is the author of two picture books, "A Place Where Hurricanes Happen" and "Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills". In 2010, Watson was named the New Voice in middle grade fiction by the ICBA for her novel, "What Momma Left Me".

Jerdine Nolen (1953) is the author of a diverse range of picture books, from the thoughtful "In My Momma's Kitchen" to the wildly imaginative "Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm", which was made into a TV movie. She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2012 for "Eliza’s Freedom".

Eric Velasquez (1961) was born in Harlem to Afro-Puerto Rican parents. His first book "The Piano Man", won the Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. He won an NAACP Image award for "Our Children Can Soar" in 2010 and Pura Belpre’ Award in 2011 for "Grandma’s Gift".

In 1972, Tom Feelings (1933-2003) was the first Black artist to win a Caldecott Honor for "Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book" and in 1975 brought another for "Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book". "The Middle Passage", won the 1996 Coretta Scott King Award.

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library (NMBCCL) serves as a cultural resource for all Indiana University students, faculty, and staff. It is a center of campus cultural activity that highlights Black Culture and the interchange between it and all American culture.

On the Bloomington campus, the Herman B Wells Library, with its double towers of Indiana limestone, is the visual center of the multi-library system and primarily supports the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.