Cheryl A. Head

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Cheryl A. Head
Cheryl A. Head 9176337.jpg
Cheryl Head, 2023 Literary Hill Book Fest
Born Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater Wayne State University
Ohio University
Genre Fiction, Historical fiction, mystery, Crime fiction
Literary movementCivil rights, human rights, queer fiction
Notable awards Golden Crown Literary Society’s Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award, Alice B Readers Award Medal, Independent Publisher Book Awards
Website
www.cherylhead.com

Cheryl A. Head is an American author, television producer, organizer, and former broadcast executive. She is also the author of the award-winning Charlie Mack Motown mysteries, whose female PI protagonist is queer and Black. Head is an Anthony Award nominee, a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, a three-time Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist, and winner of the Golden Crown Literary Society's Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. Her books are included in the Detroit Public Library's African American Booklist and in the Special Collections of the Library of Michigan. [1] In 2019, Head was named to the Hall of Fame of the New Orleans Saints and Sinners Literary Festival, and she was awarded the Alice B Reader Award in 2022. [2]

Contents

Personal life

Head was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived with her parents and siblings until adulthood. She attended Wayne State University, intending to focus on pre-law, but was “bitten by the media bug” and shifted to Media and Communications. Head worked at television stations: WDIV and Detroit Public Television (WTVS), and public radio station WDET. She received a master's degree in telecommunications management at Ohio University. She moved to Washington, DC, in the 1990s to work in public broadcasting. After working as a TV and radio field reporter, anchor, production executive, media grantmaker at several organizations in Detroit and Washington, DC, Head retired early to focus on a writing career. [3]

Head's work includes: The Charlie Mack Motown Series, a World War II historical novel, and a novel based upon the tragic loss of Head's grandfather who died in 1929 at the hands of the police. [4] That book, Time’s Undoing, was a 2023 Indie Next pick, an Amazon Best Book of March, and Amazon Editors Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense. [5]

Works

Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series

Historical novels

Awards and recognition


Select interviews/podcasts

Scrawl Space – Interview with Cheryl A. Head: Author of riveting mysteries, champion of diversity (in fiction and beyond) [6]

Literary Hill – Q & A With “Warn Me When It’s Time” Author Cheryl A. Head [7]

Books Are Magic – Time's Undoing with Cheryl A. Head [8]

Authors on the Air – Time's Undoing [9]

Thoughts from a Page – Time's Undoing [10]

BCPL – Interview conducted at the Creatures, Crimes, & Creativity Con with Cheryl Head [11]

Write-minded Podcast – Cheryl A. Head: How We Can Reclaim Our Stories Through Fiction [12]

Wicked Authors – A Wicked Welcome to Cheryl Head [13]

Crime Writers of Color – Cheryl Head and Time's Undoing with Robert Justice [14]

Select reviews

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References

  1. "Cheryl A. Head: About the Author". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. "Cheryl A. Head: Sisters in Crime Podcast #60". Sisters in Crime. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  3. "Flashpoints with Cheryl Head=". Uncorking a Story. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  4. "Cheryl Head on using crime fiction to tell the story of her grandfather's murder". Crimereads.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  5. "Programs & Events: Cheryl A. Head & Brenda Buchanan". Friend Memorial Public Library. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. Cheryl A. Head and Greg Levin. "Interview with Cheryl A. Head". Scrawl Space Blog. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  7. Karen Lyon. "Q & A With "Warn Me When It's Time" Author Cheryl A. Head". Hillrag.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  8. Janet Jakobsen (4 March 2023). "Time's Undoing with Cheryl A. Head at Books Are Magic". Books Are Magic. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  9. "Time's Undoing". Authors on the Air. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  10. Cindy Burnett. "Time's Undoing". Thoughts from a Page. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. "BCPL Interview with Cheryl Head: The Motown Mystery Writer". BCPL. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. Hosted by Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner at Literary Hub (6 March 2023). "Cheryl A. Head: How We Can Reclaim Our Stories Through Fiction" . Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  13. Julie Hennrikus (28 February 2023). "A Wicked Welcome to Cheryl Head". Wicked Authors.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  14. Robert Justice (17 May 2023). "Cheryl Head and Time's Undoing with Robert Justice". CWOC. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  15. Carol Seaman. "Time's Undoing". Booklist. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  16. Oline H. Cogdill (23 February 2023). "A 1929 racial murder looms in 'Time's Undoing'". South Florida Sun Sentine. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  17. Julie Hinds. "Detroit author's novel on racism's toll inspired by tragedy in her family". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. Sarah Weinman (25 June 2021). "Dark Night of the Soul". New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  19. April (21 August 2020). "Find Me When I'm Lost". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  20. April (22 October 2019). "Judge Me When I'm Wrong". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  21. Out in Print: Queer Book Reviews by Jerry L. Wheeler (8 July 2019). "Catch Me When I'm Falling". JL Wheeler. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  22. April (3 May 2019). "Catch Me When I'm Falling". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  23. April (4 December 2018). "Wake Me When It's Over". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  24. April (28 November 2018). "Bury Me When I'm Dead". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  25. Brookline Mike (25 July 2014). Long Way Home Review-Thank You!. AMZ. ISBN   978-1500523947.