On Pioneering New Literary Spaces and Why It Matters: A Conversation with Romance Novelist Donna Hill

Write-minded: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is currently in its fourth year. We are a weekly podcast for writers craving a unique blend of inspiration and real talk about the ups and downs of the writing life. Hosted by Brooke Warner of She Writes and Grant Faulkner of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), each theme-focused episode of Write-minded features an interview with a writer, author, or publishing industry professional.

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This episode honors a pioneer of a genre with guest Donna Hill, who pioneered a genre and hasn’t looked back. With more than 100 published books to her credit, Hill is a force. This episode covers the stamina it takes to publish so prolifically, a bit of history about what the publishing industry was like way back when in the early 90s, especially for a Black romance novelist who wasn’t seeing the books she was writing represented—anywhere, and much more. Hill is a generous guest who’s truly been around the block, so her tips and story are not to be missed.

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Donna Hill is highly regarded as an early pioneer of romance novels featuring black protagonists. She has more than 100 published titles to her credit and has been featured in Essence, the Daily News, USA Today, Today’s Black Woman, and Black Enterprise, among many others. She’s the recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award, The RT Career Achievement Award, the Gold Pen Award, and the Trailblazer Award. Three of her novels have been adapted for television, and today, in addition to writing and publishing more books, she’s an Assistant Professor of Professional Writing at Medgar Evers College.