Glory Edim

Glory Edim is an American writer and entrepreneur. She is best known as the founder of the reading network Well-Read Black Girl. Edim received the 2017 Innovator's Award at the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for her work.[1]

Glory Edim
Born1982 (age 40–41)
Arlington, VA, United States
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
EducationHoward University (BA)
Notable awardsInnovator’s Award, Los Angeles Times (2017)

Early life and education

Edim was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia,[2] to Nigerian immigrant parents who had survived the Biafra war.[3][4] Edim's father moved back to Nigeria in the early 90s; when she was in kindergarten, she and her mother joined him.[3] The two soon returned to the States after Edim fell ill.[3] Her mother, previously a historian, pursued a nursing degree.[3] They frequently visited her father in Nigeria.[4]

Edim attended Trinity College on a full scholarship before transferring to Howard University, her father's alma mater, where she studied journalism.[1][5]

Career

Edim launched Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG) on Instagram after moving to New York City in 2015.[6] An avid reader, the Well-Read Black Girl moniker came from a nickname that her boyfriend gave her and printed on a t-shirt for her as a gift.[7][8] Edim was frequently asked about the shirt by strangers on the subway, which often turned into conversations about what she was reading at the time.[7]

Each Instagram post featured an archival photo of an African American woman writer with a caption that featured a quotation by that writer.[3] Eden stated that her goal for WRBG was to develop a community for Black women to discuss their interest in literature by Black women writers.[7] The commenters (mostly Black women) began conversations in the comments, which prompted Edim to launch a Brooklyn-based book club for WRBG.[3] Authors such as Naomi Jackson and LaShonda Katrice Barnett attended the meetings upon her invitation.[3]

Edim developed the idea for an annual literary festival of the same name with the help of writer Tayari Jones.[3] In June 2017 Edim used Kickstarter, where she worked full-time, to raise $40,000 for the event.[7][9] The inaugural festival took place in September 2017 in Brooklyn and sold out.[7]

Books

She published an anthology called Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves (Ballantine Books) on October 30, 2018.[3] Edim studied anthologies by Toni Cade Bambara to inform the style of the anthology.[4] The book includes authors at various stages in their careers, such as Morgan Jerkins, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jesmyn Ward. Edim wrote the foreword.[3] Of putting together the anthology, Edim stated "I was trying to replicate the intimacy you have in a book club within the community, where it feels like someone is sitting next to you and telling you a very personal and loving story."[3] The anthology received positive critical reception. Utibe Gautt Ate wrote in a review for LA Review of Books, "The anthology’s premise, “When did you first see yourself in literature?” is a seemingly simple question each author is asked to illuminate, yet for the black women here it opens a glorious Pandora’s box and sparks a telling journey of how black girl readers become black woman writers."[10] Publishers Weekly stated, "Speaking directly to black women readers, this book contains a journey from which anyone can derive enjoyment and benefit."[11]

Edim is planning the release of two more books: a memoir titled Raised By Books, and a second Well-Read Black Girl anthology.[5][12]

Accolades

References
  1. León, Concepción de (2018-10-25). "'Well-Read Black Girl' Is Bigger Than Glory Edim". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  2. "'Well-Read Black Girl' Is Bigger Than Glory Edim". NY Times. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. Israel, Yahdon. "How Glory Edim and Well-Read Black Girl Are Creating and Transforming Communities of Readers". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  4. "'Well-Read Black Girl' Turns Books Into Community". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  5. "Q&A: How Glory Edim found her voice in her anthology 'Well-read Black Girl'". Los Angeles Times. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  6. Gadegbeku, Zoe (2018-10-25). "Well-Read Black Girl's Glory Edim continues to grow her empire". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  7. "Meet the innovative literary leader Glory Edim of Well-Read Black Girl". Los Angeles Times. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  8. Evans, Dayna (2017-10-11). "How I Get It Done: Glory Edim". The Cut. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  9. Knoepp, Lilly. "How This Well-Read Black Girl Became An Entrepreneur". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  10. Ate, Utibe Gautt. "We All Get to Dream: On Glory Edim's "Well Read-Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  11. "Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  12. "Becoming Your Own Gatekeeper". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  13. "Thompson-Spires Wins Hurston/Wright 2019 Award for Fiction". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  14. Nakamura, Reid (2019-03-31). "NAACP Image Awards 2019: The Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
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