The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is a 2015 memoir written by Issa Rae. [1] [2] [3] In the book, Rae chronicles her life through a series of humorous autobiographical essays and stories. [4] [5] [6] The book's title is taken from Rae's popular web series of the same name, often simply referred to as Awkward Black Girl (2013–2015). [7] [8] Upon release, the book became a New York Times best-seller. [9]
Ruth Reichl is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and has been co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. She has won six James Beard Foundation Awards.
Marcellas Reynolds is an American actor, author, documentarian, and television host. His notable television appearances include GMA3, Access Hollywood, E! Live from the Red Carpet, The Bold and the Beautiful, Supreme Models, and Yes, Dear. Reynolds began his television career in 2002 on CBS's hit television series Big Brother season three, becoming the first openly gay black man cast on a major network reality series. His writing has appeared in Chicago magazine, Essence, The Guardian, and L.A. Style Magazine. Reynolds is the author of Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion and Supreme Actresses: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Hollywood, Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Music, and the executive producer of Supreme Models, the documentary.
Nelson George is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Sujata Choudhury, credited professionally as Sujata Day, is an American actress, model and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as CeeCee in the Issa Rae web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (2011-2013) and Sarah in Insecure. Day made her directorial debut with the 2020 comedy-drama, Definition Please.
Black women filmmakers have made contributions throughout the history of film. According to Nsenga Burton, writer for The Root, "the film industry remains overwhelmingly white and male. In 2020, 74.6 percent of movie directors of theatrical films were white, showing a small decrease from the previous year. In terms of representation, 25.4 percent of film directors were of ethnic minority in 2020. Of the 25.4 percent of minority filmmakers, a small percentage was female.
The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl is an American comedy web series created by and starring Issa Rae. It premiered on a dedicated YouTube channel on February 3, 2011. The show follows the life of J as she interacts with co-workers and love interests who place her in uncomfortable situations. The story is told through first-person narrative as J usually reveals how she feels about her circumstances through voice-over or dream sequence.
Attica Locke is an American fiction author and writer/producer for television and film.
I Am Other is a multimedia creative collective and record label created by Pharrell Williams, that serves as an umbrella for all of his endeavors, including Billionaire Boys Club, ICECREAM apparel and textile company Bionic Yarn. There is also a dedicated YouTube channel launched by the artist, record producer and fashion designer in 2012. The channel was launched as part of YouTube's $100 million original channel initiative. The programming on the I Am Other channel focuses on music, culture, fashion and the arts. Williams describes the channel as a "cultural movement dedicated to Thinkers, Innovators and Outcasts." The channel launched with original series such as Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae, StereoTypes.
Jo-Issa Rae Diop, credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Founder of Hoorae Media, she achieved wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO television series Insecure (2016–2021), for which she was nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.
Grady Hendrix is an American author, journalist, public speaker, and screenwriter known for his best-selling 2014 novel Horrorstör. Hendrix lives in Manhattan and was one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival.
Insecure is an American comedy-drama television series created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, and is partially based on Rae's acclaimed web series Awkward Black Girl. The series is about the awkward experiences of a contemporary African-American woman. The series premiered online on September 23, 2016, via HBO Now and HBO Go, before airing weekly on HBO from October 9, 2016.
Tracy Yvonne Oliver is a screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. Oliver originally starred in the web series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl (2011–2012) before serving as a writer on two comedy television series: ABC's The Neighbors (2012–2014) and Starz's Survivor's Remorse (2014–2015).
Brad Evans is a British academic, and Professor of Political Violence at the department of Politics, Languages & International Studies at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. He is the founder and director of the Centre for the Study of Violence.
Brittani Nichols is an American producer, actress, comedian, and writer. In 2016, Nichols wrote, produced, and starred in the film Suicide Kale, which won the Audience Award for Best U.S. Dramatic Feature at 2016 Outfest. She has written for the television programs A Black Lady Sketch Show, Take My Wife, Strangers, and Drop the Mic. Nichols is a writer and producer for Abbott Elementary and won the Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series award at the 54th NAACP Image Awards for the episode "Student Transfer". As part of the producing team of Abbott Elementary, Nichols was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2023.
Morgan Jerkins is an American writer and editor. Her debut book, This Will Be My Undoing (2018), a collection of nonfiction essays, was a New York Times bestseller. Her second book, Wandering in Strange Lands, her memoir, was released in August 2020. She is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
Hoorae Media, also known as Hoorae, is an American independent media production company formed in September 2020 by Issa Rae. Formerly known as Issa Rae Productions, Hoorae launched as an umbrella banner to consolidate her various film, television, and digital content companies. Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show, and Rap Sh!t, were produced by Hoorae with HBO. Upcoming productions include the television adaptation of the novel The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and the film Sinkhole, produced with Monkeypaw Productions and Universal Pictures.
James Bland is an American actor, writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the web series Giants.
Amy Aniobi is a Nigerian-American writer and producer. She was the head writer and co-executive producer of Insecure and was also an executive producer for the HBO special 2 Dope Queens. Aniobi signed a two-year overall deal with HBO in 2019.
Sweet Life: Los Angeles is an American reality television series created by Issa Rae. It premiered on August 19, 2021, on HBO Max. In October 2021, it was renewed for a second season which premiered on August 4, 2022. In December 2022, the series was canceled after two seasons.