Glory Edim | |
---|---|
Born | 1982 (age 41–42) Arlington, VA, United States |
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Education | Howard University (BA) |
Notable awards | Innovator’s Award, Los Angeles Times (2017) |
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]
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]
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]
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]