Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with over one million books sold. Her award-winning young adult novel, Piecing Me Together, received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor. Her poetry collection, Black Girl You are Atlas, received a Corretta Scott King Honor and was the winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award. Her debut novel, skin & bones, was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Known for centering her poetry and fiction around the experiences of Black girls and women, Watson’s work explores themes of identity and the intersections of race, class, and gender. Her books include the Ryan Hart Series, All the Blues in the Sky, and the critically acclaimed picture book, The 1619 Project: Born on the Water co-written with Nikole Hannah-Jones.

 

Her stories are often inspired by her experiences growing up in Portland, Oregon. Watson is also an educator and community activist who has used the arts to help youth cope with trauma and discuss social issues. As part of this work, her picture book A Place Where Hurricanes Happen was inspired by poetry workshops she led with children in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

 

For over twenty years, Watson taught creative writing and theater as a writer-in-residence in schools and community centers across the nation. Watson has given keynotes and readings at the United Nations, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. embassies in Japan and New Zealand. She serves on the Education Advisory Council for the Academy of American Poets. She splits her time between Portland, Oregon, and New York City.