Literary Prospects Episode 11: Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez

In Episode 11 of Literary Prospects, we talk with author Dolen Perkins-Valdez about her latest novel, Take My Hand.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Wench, Balm and most recently Take My Hand. She has been a finalist for 2 NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction. She won the first novelist award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association in 2011, and she is a 2020 nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship.  Dolen is the current chair of the board of the PEN/Falukner Foundation, and she teaches creative writing at American University in Washington D.C. 

In this interview, Dolen talks about the real case that inspired her latest novel, why she loves writing historical fiction, the political side of art, and much more…