Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a Baltimore native. His mother was a teacher and his father was a librarian and publisher. 

An interest in writing and publishing blossomed at an early age. As a child, his mother made him write essays when he behaved badly. His father worked with Black Classic Press and was a former Black Panther.

Despite attending Howard University, Coates never got his degree. Despite being the only member of his family without a college degree, he has received the MacArthur Genius Grant.

Between the World and Me was his second non-fiction book and he won the 2015 National Book Award for it. Coates wrote a novel The Water Dancer and has written for the Marvel Comics series Black Panther and Captain America.