Each month, we highlight birthdays of authors for you to discover through print and digital items as well as online biographies. In the post below, click on the author’s name to find titles by them in our catalog. Read a bit about each author below and find their full biography in the resource listed.

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Dorothy West (born June 2, 1907): "African American novelist, short story writer, columnist, and editor, Dorothy West was a prominent female member of the Harlem Renaissance milieu, whose work spanned 70 years. As the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance, her prolific works are a testament of the various facets of her life spanning from the 1920s to the 1990s." Find her full bio in the African American Experience resource HERE. Also in this resource you can learn more about the Harlem Renaissance and Literature in the Harlem Renaissance. 

William Loren Katz (born June 2, 1940): "William Loren Katz specializes in writing black history for a young audience. As a writer for Black Child explained: 'African-American parents are on the prowl for children's books with positive Black images. In the field of nonfiction, many will probably find what they want in the carefully researched, exciting works of William Loren Katz,' whose books contain 'an abundance of stirring women and men pioneers and daring doers. This author is a master of simple, no-nonsense prose and his books are crammed with powerful antique prints and vintage photographs from his historic collection.'" From the Biography in Context online resource. Find Biography in Context HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them.

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Akwaeke Emezi (born June 6, 1987): "Awaeke Emezi is a Nigerian video artist and writer. Emezi uses the pronouns they/them/theirs. They is of Igbo and Tamil heritage. Emezi earned a master's degree from New York University and has written articles that have appeared in publications and on websites, including the Cut, Vogue.com, Buzzfeed, Commonwealth Writers, and Granta online." From the Biography in Context online resource. Find Biography in Context HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them.

Nikki Giovanni (born June 7, 1943): Winner of our 2008 Sankofa Freedom Award! "Nikki Giovanni is an African American poet who is known for expressive and emotional writing on love, loss, family, gender, racism, activism, and revolutionary perspectives. She was one of the most celebrated poets of the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s and 1970s." Find her full bio in the African American Experience resource HERE. Also in that resource, explore the Black Arts Movement and Women Writers in the Black Arts Movement.

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Louise Erdrich (born June 7, 1954): "Louise Erdrich is an international writer of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She is one of the most critically acclaimed Native writers in modern America and is known for weaving her dual cultural heritage of Native American and German American experiences into her writing." Find her full bio in the American Indian Experience online resource, available HERE. Also in that resource you can learn more about the Cree and Anishinabe peoples, the Contemporary Native American Novel, Native American oral literature and Native American poetry.

Yasunari Kawabata (born June 14, 1899): "In 1968 internationally acclaimed novelist and short story writer Yasunari Kawabata became the first Japanese author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. By this time he had already been honored with every major literary award in Japan, as well as several French awards. Kawabata's literary prominence began early when as a student in 1924 he joined with Riichi Yokomitsu and other young writers to found the literary journal Bungei Jidai, the mouthpiece of the Shinkankaku-ha, or Neo-Sensualist movement. Members of this short-lived but important avant-garde literary movement experimented with cubism, dadaism, futurism, and surrealism in an effort to capture the pure feelings and sensations of life." From the Biography in Context online resource. Find Biography in Context HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them.

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Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938): Winner of the 2002 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award! You can watch her acceptance speech from the award ceremony HERE on our YouTube channel. "Joyce Carol Oates is an author, poet, literary scholar, and professor at Princeton University. She has written prolifically since her young adulthood in the early 1960s; her fiction is filled with characters who live in violent, unhappy worlds, where they fall victim to their social setting as well as their own weaknesses. Some critics have accused her of writing to excess, but many consider her one of the most important female writers in the United States." From the Pop Culture Universe online resource. Find Pop Culture Universe HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them.

Octavia E. Butler (born June 22, 1947): "African American writer Octavia Butler made significant contributions to the field of science fiction, a genre historically dominated by white male writers. Butler refashioned science fiction, frequently crafting female protagonists of color. She was the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the MacArthur Fellowship." From the African American Experience online resource. Find African American Experience HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them. Also in that resource you can find reference articles on Afrofuturism, Feminism in Science Fiction and Los Angeles based African American Writers.

Lucille Clifton (born June 27, 1936): "Lucille Clifton is an African American poet, notable for writing about the African American female experience and historical heritage, which often reflect her family life as well as her own. Her work stresses the importance of women and family as part of the African American experience." Read the full bio in the African American Experience online resource. Find African American Experience HERE, then log in with your last name and TCCL card number to search this author's name and explore the resources about them.