Jill Nelson

Who is Jill Nelson?

Jill Nelson is a prominent African-American journalist and novelist. She has written several books, including the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience, which won an American Book Award, and is currently Professor of Journalism at the City College of New York.

Jill Nelson grew up in New York's Harlem, spending summers on Martha's Vineyard. She graduated from the City College of New York and went on to study at the Columbia School of Journalism. Nelson wrote for the Washington Post Magazine at its inception, and was awarded the Washington D.C. Journalist of the Year for her contributions. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Essence, The Nation, Ms., the Chicago Tribune, the Village Voice, USA Today, USA Weekend, and msnbc.com.

Nelson wrote the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience about her experiences as a black female journalist at the Washington Post. Her next book Straight, No Chaser: How I Became A Grown-Up Black Woman, also autobiographical, discussed role models for black women.

Her first work of fiction, Sexual Healing, was published in 2003.