Kennedy Ryan

Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Kennedy Ryan, best-selling writer of Reel. New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in NPR, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Glamour, Cosmo, Ebony, TIME, and many others. The audio edition of her novel Reel received the prestigious Audie® Award, and her Skyland series is currently in development for television at Peacock. The co-founder of LIFT 4 Autism, an annual charitable book auction, Kennedy has a passion for raising Autism awareness. Dubbed the Queen of Hugs by her readers, she is a wife to her "lifetime lover" and mother to an extraordinary son. Dr. Julie E. Moody-Freeman is the Director of the Center for Black Diaspora, Co-Director of the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, and an Associate Professor in the Department of African and Black Diaspora Studies at DePaul University. She is the co-editor of The Black Imagination, Science Fiction, and the Speculative and The Black Imagination: Science Fiction, Futurism, and the Speculative. Her work on African American Romance has appeared in Romance Fiction and American Culture, The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance Fiction, and the Journal of Popular Romance Studies. She is also the creator and host of the Black Romance Podcast, which is building an oral history on Black Romance writers. Dr. Carole Bell is a Jamaican-born communication researcher, writer, and critic with two decades of experience working at the intersection of media, culture, and politics. A lover of books, TV, film and democracy, her writing has appeared in print and digital media outlets including NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the Grio, and she is a contributor to the Black Love Matters essay anthology. She earned her PhD at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Media and Journalism concentrating in political communication, public opinion, and public policy and communication effects. She also holds an MS in Television and Radio from Brooklyn College, and a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard College. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University for sponsoring this podcast! Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Co-creator, Co-producer, and Co-host of Season 4 of the Black Romance Podcast: Carole Bell @cvbell Marketing and Promotions: Jennifer Gardner @jpgm.a and Miya Jefferson Sound Editor: Miya Jefferson Black Romance Artwork: Kyle Gabb @Marciano_arts