Her book titles include bestseller Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: Brown v. Board of Education, The Gospel Cinderella, Hush Songs: African-American Lullabies; Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea; I Have Heard of a Land, Crowning Glory; and National Book Award winner Marked by Fire.

Ms. Thomas' more than 50 books have earned her more readers and more rewards: the National Book Award, the American Book Award, three Coretta Scott King Honors, two Governor's Awards, three American Library Association Awards, the International Reading Association Award, an Oklahoma Lifetime Achievement Award, and many more (see Awards page).

Joyce Carol Thomas is a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma (the setting for some of her fictional works). When she was 10 years old, Thomas and her family moved to the rural area of Tracy, California.

	Joyce in 1956; a VFW essay contest winner!

A graduate of Stanford University, fluent in Spanish and French, Ms. Thomas has traveled to Australia, China, Ecuador, Guam, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, and Nigeria. She has taught from grade school to the university level, including the University of California at Santa Cruz and Purdue University. Her last teaching appointment was as Full Professor in the English Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she taught Creative Writing courses in poetry, drama, and fiction.

She now lives in Berkeley, California, near her family, where she continues to write and publish.

For a short biography and downloadable photos in various sizes, please check For the Press.