Bestselling and Award-winning Author
Frederick Joseph
Frederick Joseph is a three-time New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from Yonkers, New York, whose work spans poetry, nonfiction, children’s literature, and young adult fiction. He is the author of the acclaimed YA novel This Thing of Ours, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, was nominated for The Georgia Peach Book Award, was named one of the Best Young Adult Books of 2025 by Kirkus, the Chicago Public Library, and BookPage, and was selected for the 2026 Texas Library Association Tayshas Reading List.
His body of work includes the poetry collection We Alive, Beloved; the bestselling nonfiction titles The Black Friend and Patriarchy Blues; the collaborative volume Better Than We Found It; and the children’s books Black Panther: Wakanda Forever—The Courage to Dream and Planting Hope. Across genres, Joseph’s writing is known for its emotional precision, cultural urgency, and commitment to reimagining how we understand identity, justice, and belonging.
Joseph’s books have earned widespread recognition, including being named an Amazon Editors’ Pick, a selection of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a Best Children’s Book of the Year by Bank Street College, and an Editors’ Choice by Booklist. His work has also been recognized by the International Literacy Association and the National Council for the Social Studies, and has been nominated for the In the Margins Award and longlisted for the Green Earth Book Award, among other honors.
In addition to his books, Joseph’s essays and cultural criticism have appeared in The Boston Globe, Essence, HuffPost, Adweek, and Cosmopolitan. He is also the recipient of both the Letter Review Poetry Prize and Essay Prize, and publishes ongoing work on politics and culture via his Substack.
Joseph’s literary career is deeply intertwined with his advocacy and philanthropic work. He has been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30, honored with the Comic-Con Humanitarian of the Year Award, and named to The Root 100 list of Most Influential African Americans. His honors also include the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award and the Allyship Award at Lincoln Center’s Black Girl Magic Ball. A sought-after speaker, he has appeared at the UN HeForShe Summit and has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and national leaders to advance conversations around equity, culture, and social impact.
LATEST BOOKS
Everything’s Not Lost
Novel
By Frederick Joseph
Publication Date: October 20, 2026
A heart-wrenching yet vividly hopeful novel about a Black girl’s struggle to find the quiet beauty in life and friendship amid the chaos of grief and mental illness by New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling author Frederick Joseph.
“Frederick is such a grounded and beautiful voice of not just this moment but all the moments. Everything’s Not Lost cements him firmly as a much needed and stunning voice inside the world of YA literature.” —Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award
As a sixteen-year-old Black girl with bipolar disorder, Ella Washington has plenty stacked against her. But following her beloved sister’s unexpected death and its turbulent aftermath, Ella is desperate to find any sense of normalcy. Worse still, someone at her school is determined to drive her deeper into despair.
It feels nearly impossible to find her way out of the fog of grief and loneliness, but through her love of art, some unlikely new friends, and the memory of her sister, Ella slowly learns that the pursuit of happiness and forgiveness is an endeavor that is more than worthwhile.
Told in Frederick Joseph’s perceptive and lyrical voice, Everything’s Not Lost is an achingly relatable story about finding points of light even in the darkest of times.
Novel
By Frederick Joseph
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
The powerful and timely YA novel debut from three-time New York Times best-selling author Frederick Joseph is a deeply heartfelt story—and a rallying cry against book banning.
In an instant, Ossie Brown’s entire future is in jeopardy when a torn ACL ends his promising basketball career. Now that basketball is no longer a major part of his identity, Ossie—a Black teen who doesn’t come from wealth and privilege—must navigate his new place in the social and academic ecosystems of his affluent, predominantly white school. When a Black teacher encourages him to join her highly regarded writing program, Ossie begins to find a new purpose, buoyed by not only the rich works of literature by marginalized authors he’s now reading, but also by new friends who see him as something more than an asset to the sports program. Everything changes when some students’ viral “anti-woke” video puts the teacher’s job, the writing program, and even Ossie’s friends’ safety at risk—and Ossie must find his true voice. This unflinching novel confronts critical issues like racism and classism, the treatment of student athletes, homophobia, and book banning while weaving together a moving testament to family, romance, friendship, and the power of words.
This Thing Of Ours
