Brooklyn Museum of Art and the John Oliver Killens Writers Workshop Inc. present 2004 Black History Month Reading

2004 Black History Month Reading at the Brooklyn Museum of Art featuring authors Danyel Smith, Martha Southgate and Karen Siplin--Book signing to follow

(PRWEB) February 14, 2004 --The John Oliver Killens Writers Workshop Inc., in collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum of Art, presents three exceptional African American novelists--Danyel Smith (author of More Like Swimming), Martha Southgate (author of The Fall of Rome) and Karen Siplin (author of Such A Girl) at a reading in celebration of Black History Month. A book signing will immediately follow.

Founded in 1988 by Carol Dixon, in memory of her mentor, the late social critic, novelist, teacher and activist, Dr. John Oliver Killens. Dr. Killens was a founding chairman of the legendary Harlem Writers Guild which nurtured such writers as Maya Angelou, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Sarah Wright, Lonnie Elder, Rosa Guy, John A. Williams, Paule Marshall and Terri McMillan.

By placing the emerging writer of color at the center of its programs, the John Oliver Killens Writers Workshop seeks to:
_ create a supportive environment to allow those writers to take the risks necessary in developing quality fiction.
_ assist non-mainstream writers in developing their voices and giving life to the nuances of their experience as people of color.
_ provide writers of color with the necessary tools to enter the publishing world.

The Workshop is dedicated to developing emerging fiction writers of exceptional ability and furthering their careers via a Professional level craft workshop, classes, a Young Writer's Program, The Other Half reading series and two forthcoming publications: The Other Half: The Magazine of Emerging Writers of Color and Other Voices: Fifteen Years of the John Oliver Killens Writers Workshop-a fiction anthology.

The workshop is committed to creating avenues through which it can introduce new audiences to the work of emerging writers and since its inception, has presented the works of writers of color through its reading series, oft times in conjunction with the work of a well-known writer. Indeed, JOKWWs influence in this regard has been felt far beyond the workshop. As Executive Director of JOKWW, Carol Dixon has also curated reading series for Dixon Place, and the Writers Voice of the West Side YMCA. These series have presented a multi-cultural collection of artists including Sherman Alexie, Paul Beatty, Octavia Butler, Jayne Cortez, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz, Sandra Maria Estevez, Marilyn French, Reg E Gaines, Christina Garcia, Thomas Glave, Francisco Goldman, Joy Harjo, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Sapphire, Sonia Sanchez, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Jacqueline Woodson, and Shay Youngblood, as well as members of the JOKWW workshop.

The workshop has been featured in such magazines as African Voices and Shooting Star Review, a literary journal based in Pittsburgh. Most recently, JOKWW was featured at the 2002 National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, presenting a craft workshop as well as readings.