Speaker Bio

Andrea Davis Pinkney is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of numerous books for all ages, a 30-year publishing industry veteran, champion of literacy, and renowned media personality and contributor. She is a four-time NAACP Image Award nominee, and has been inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame for her illustrious career writing books for children and young adults, including picture books, historical fiction, novels, and works of non-fiction. Ms. Pinkney has been honored with both the Regina Medal and the Arbuthnot Honor Award, recognizing her distinguished contribution to the field of literature.  Her books have garnered multiple Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the Parenting Publication Gold Medal, and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor. Her most recent book is Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It, an illustrated multi-generational novel celebrating the groundbreaking moments in history leading to African Americans’ right to vote.

Pinkney is a captivating and illuminating speaker. She has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR, Oprah Radio, and as a White House guest author. She is a frequent media contributor to national outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today, The Huffington Post,and Essence magazine. 

Pinkney is a gifted presenter. She is a champion of many causes, including DEIB in the workplace, literacy, writing and how to get published, balancing career and life, wellness and women’s empowerment, and effective parenting along with all facets – motherhood, strategies for raising children in today’s world, empowering special needs children, talking to kids about race, and encouraging a life-long love of reading. Pinkney is often invited to speak at colleges and universities, corporations, parenting organizations, museums, media groups and conferences, and to educators and advocacy groups including the United Nations, Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Youth Wellness Foundation, Chelsea Clinton’s Too Small to Fail, and at the Library of Congress. Pinkney impacts audiences of all ages, from students to corporate executives, with her unique perspectives forged from her life’s work, as a celebrated author, successful publishing executive, mother and wife, and spokesperson for today’s most relevant causes.

A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Pinkney has served in leadership and executive roles in both magazine and book publishing, most currently as Vice President, and Executive Editor at Scholastic, where she has acquired and edited books that have gone on to win the National Book Award, Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Honor, the Stonewall Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award. She was named one of the “25 Most Influential Black Women in Business” by The Network Journal and along with her husband and frequent contributor, Brian Pinkney, named among the “25 Most Influential People in Our Children’s Lives” by Children’s Health Magazine,among many other prestigious awards and accolades.

Speaking Topics

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Through audience interactivity, Pinkney teaches leaders hands-on strategies for engaging equity and inclusion practices in the workplace, community, and home.

Parenting

As the mother of two, Pinkney imparts experience and actionable advice for raising kids to become life-long readers. This talk can also be tailored specifically for parenting special-needs children and those with learning challenges, from the youngest ages through young adulthood.

Talking to Kids about Race

Pinkney provides practical strategies for having honest, accessible, and age-appropriate conversations about race with the children in our lives. She addresses the importance of moving past inertia, fear, and stereotype anxiety to empower adults to lead these important conversations.

Student Talks

Pinkney dazzles students with her engaging, fun, and informative author presentations that invite kids to come along on a “behind-the-book” journey that includes readings, music, visuals, and an insider’s look at how authors create their books, and how every student can celebrate their own unique creativity.

Tips for Writing and Getting Published

As a publishing industry insider who’s published and authored multiple bestsellers, and has launched and built the careers of many authors, Pinkney provides practical tools for developing your writing, and what it truly takes to get an agent and attract the attention of editors at the top publishing houses.

The Art & Soul of Historical Storytelling 

In this talk, Pinkney shares practical strategies for engaging K-12 readers of nonfiction and historical fiction. Tailored specifically for educators, Pinkney emphasizes research, fact-checking, and the use of primary source material, as well as how nonfiction books are being incorporated into lesson plans, across grade levels and ages.

Booking Info

Andrea Davis Pinkney’s speaking engagements are handled by the Hachette Speakers Bureau, a division of Hachette Book Group and an accredited member of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus. Contact us to learn more.