Greenburgh Public Library Blog

Urban Fiction Spotlight: Kimberla Lawson Roby

Urban Fiction.The settings are gritty and the characters are tough, ready to survive by any means necessary. You may know the stories, but what about the authors who write them? What inspired them? Let's take a deeper look at the fifth of our six authors and offer you a peek inside their lives! ​

To read more about other Urban Fiction authors, check out our previous post about Teri Woods, Zane, Carl Weber and Eric Jerome Dickey.  ​

1. Although Kimberla loved writing, she didn’t plan on becoming a best selling author. Deciding to take the more secure route, Kimberla received business degrees from both Rock Valley College and Cardinal Stritch University. With this degree, she started her professional life as a Financial Analyst for the City of Rockford, Illinois. 
2. After receiving multiple rejection letters from literary agents and editors alike, Kimberla decided to take the leap and self-publish, which in 1996 was not an easy feat. With her business background in tow, she started her company, Lenox Press, and sold every one of her 3,000 copies of Behind Closed Doors. 
3. Kimberla has won many different awards throughout her twenty two year career: 2013 - NAACP Award for Outstanding Work for The Reverend’s Wife, 2001 - BlackBoard Fiction Book of the Year award for Casting The First Stone, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 recipient of the Author of the Year – Female award presented by the African-American Literary Award Show in New York and in 1998 The First-Time Author Award from Chicago’s Black History Month Book Fair and Conference.
4. Kimberla, most famous for her Curtis Black series, started off with the notion that she would not write any sequels in her career, let alone a series. Fan reaction and persistence to Casting The First Stone made Kimberla change her mind. After four years, Kimberla gave in to writing a novella and a Curtis Black installment each year. Unfortunately for fans of the series, her last installment was released July 31st, 2018 titled, Better Late Than Never. 
5. Even though the last Curtis Black installment has been released, it’s not the end. In July 2018, Kimberla signed a deal with Reel World Management to adapt the series into a television. Kimberla will serve as executive producer. 

To read more about Kimberla Lawson Roby, pick up one of her many novels, available at Greenburgh Public Library. Come in and visit the Urban Fiction section on the second floor! 

References:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-kimberla-lawson-roby-sinful-calling-20160729-story.html#
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-exclusives/sept-13/bonus-wd-interview-outtakes-kimberla-lawson-roby
https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2018/08/kimberla-lawson-roby-releases-final-book-in-popular-series/
https://kimroby.com/
https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Kimberla+Lawson+Roby
http://www.rrstar.com/news/20180727/book-series-by-bestselling-belvidere-novelist-headed-to-tv
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/kimberla-lawson-reverend-curtis-black-1202887493/