‘Reel’ is a love letter to the Harlem Renaissance — and Black creativesRyan remembers the exact moment she was inspired to write most of her books.
“These Black women with these big afros, just unapologetically gorgeous, because that’s something that defies what culture tells us about ourselves.
“I wanted women who are living with chronic illness, specifically lupus, to feel beautiful, to feel loved, to feel like they weren’t too much,” she says.
She describes her books as “Trojan horses” to “smuggle in discourse” and start difficult conversations readers may not usually have.
Just a few months after the rerelease of “Reel,” Ryan will publish the third and final book in her “Skyland” series, “Can’t Get Enough,” out May 2025.
Persons:
Kennedy Ryan, ”, ” Ryan, TODAY.com, “, Ryan, Neevah Saint, Canon Holt, Dessi, Audie, Black creatives Ryan, Dorothy Dandridge, Halle Berry, Dandridge, Carmen Jones, Berry, Black, Kennedy, Black creatives, Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, they’ve, ” Kennedy, Barnes & Noble, ” Kennedy Ryan, that’s, Neevah, there’s, ” What’s, Monk, Verity, I’ve, ’, I’m, she’s
Organizations:
Hollywood, Hachette, Harlem Renaissance, Harlem, Academy, Barnes &, “
Locations:
Harlem, American, “