Gloria Naylor

Gloria Naylor is a writer for theater, film, and television and the author of the internationally acclaimed quartet of novels, The Women of Brewster Place (1983 American Book Award Winner), Linden Hills, Mama Day, and Bailey's Cafe. Her novels now mark their 12th language translation. In 1989, The Women of Brewster Place was made into an ABC mini-series starring Oprah Winfrey and was nominated for two Emmys; it was later the basis for the weekly dramatic series, "Brewster Place." In 1999, Naylor returned to the beloved neighborhood in The Men of Brewster Place. Her latest novel, 1996, was published in 2005.

Naylor graduated with highest honors from Brooklyn College and received a master's degree from Yale University. She has been distinguished with numerous academic honors including Scholar-in-Residence, the University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow, the Society for the Humanities, Cornell University; the President's Medal, Brooklyn College; and Visiting Professor, University of Kent, Canterbury, England.

Naylor has won Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for her novels. For her screenwriting, she has been awarded the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. Her stage adaptation of "Bailey's Cafe" was enthusiastically received at a reading at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center. In April 1994, "Bailey's Cafe" enjoyed a successful run during its world premier at the Hartford Stage Company.