The NCBLA Board of Directors

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Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes does not consider herself a bonified storyteller, but, as she told an audience at the Library of Congress, she is happy to own the title Poet. Born and raised in New York City, Nikki began composing verse at the age of six and has been writing ever since.

A prolific artist, she is the author of many award-winning books for children and young adults including the novels Bronx Masquerade (Dial), winner of the 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Jazmin's Notebook (Dial), a Coretta Scott King honor book and Bank Street College Book of the Year; the popular poetry collections Danitra Brown, Class Clown, Danitra Brown Leaves Town (HarperCollins) and Meet Danitra Brown (Lothrop), an ALA Notable and Coretta Scott King honor book, Hopscotch Love (Lothrop); Under the Christmas Tree (Harper); What is Goodbye? (Hyperion); Talkin' About Bessie, the 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner and Author Award honor book, and Horn Book Fanfare book (Orchard); Aneesa Lee & the Weaver's Gift, an American Bookseller Pick of the List (Lothrop); From a Child's Heart (Just Us Books); A Dime A Dozen, My Man Blue (Dial); Come Sunday (Eerdman's), an ALA Notable book; At Break of Day and When Daddy Prays (Eerdman's). Other works include Stepping Out with Grandma Mac, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, and Shoe Magic (Orchard), A Pocketful of Poems (Clarion), Wild, Wild Hair (Scholastic), Portrait of Mary (Harcourt Brace), a work of adult fiction, and Malcolm X: a Force for Change (Fawcett), a YA biography which was an NAACP Image Award finalist for 1993.

In addition to her work for children, Ms. Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, and Image, Journal of Arts & Religion.

An accomplished and widely anthologized poet of both children's and adult verse, Grimes has conducted poetry readings and lectures at international schools in Russia, China, Sweden and Tanzania, while short-term mission projects have taken her to such trouble spots as Haiti.

During the 1970s, Nikki coproduced and hosted The Kid's Show on WBAI FM in New York. Later, during a six-year stint in Sweden, she hosted their radio program for immigrants, Grunslöst, and another for Swedish Educational Radio.

In 2005, Ms. Grimes was awarded the Golden Dolphin Award by the Southern California Children's Book Association, recogning her body of work.

Forthcoming poetry titles include When Gorilla Goes Walking (Orchard/Scholastic), Thanks a Million (Greenwillow), and Welcome, Precious (Orchard).