Nikki Grimes dabbles in watercolors and collage (she created one of the illustrations for One Last Word!), she crafts handmade books, cards and beaded jewelry, is a textile artist, and once sang, danced and acted her way down the east coast of China. Her primary passion, though, is writing books for children and young adults. Her complete bibliography of trade and mass market books number more than 106. Her trade titles include historical fiction, biographies, graphic novels, chapter books, and novels in prose. However, poetry and novels-in-verse are her genres of choice.
A bestselling author, Grimes was inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame in 2023, is the recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Other awards include both a Sibert and a Printz Honor for Ordinary Hazards, her memoir. She received the Coretta Scott King Award for Bronx Masquerade; CSK Honors for Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words With Wings; the NAACP Image Award for New York Times Bestseller Barack Obama:Son of Promise, Child of Hope; The Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry; Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for One Last Word; Claudia Lewis Poetry Award; two Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Awards; two Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors; Horn Book Fanfare for Talkin' About Bessie; The Horace Mann Upstanders Book Award; the VOYA Non-Fiction Honor; The Lion & The Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry; International Youth Library White Ravens List; ALA Notables for What is Goodbye? and Words With Wings; Notable Books for a Global Society, and been recognized with numerous awards for her body of work. Most notably, she was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
The novel Growin' marked Grimes' entry into children's literature, followed by Something on My Mind—her first book of poetry—A Dime a Dozen, From A Child's Heart. Her novels in verse are close to her heart, and include Words Wiith Wings, Garvey's Choice—a novel in tanka poems—A Girl Named Mister, Dark Sons, and Planet Middle School. Other popular works include Aneesa Lee & The Weaver's Gift, Chasing Freedom, the Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series, the beloved Meet Danitra Brown, Wild, Wild Hair, and Welcome Precious.
A much anthologized poet, her own works include the Golden Shovel poetry collections, One Last Word and Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance, both for middle grades. Her poetry picture books include Pocketful of Poems, Poems in the Attic, Thanks a Million, When Daddy Prays, Southwest Sunrise, The Watcher, A Walk in the Woods, and Lullaby for the King. Here joyful books for toddlers, Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, Off to See the Sea, and Playtime for Restless Rascals, all illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon, are popular additions to her catalog. Glory in the Margins:Poems for the Pulpit, and its sequel, Glory, Too (Jan. 2025) are works for adults.
In addition to her books, Grimes has written articles for such magazines as Essence, Horn Book, Today's Christian Woman, Book Links, English Journal, and Image: Journal of Arts & Religion, among others. Her work has been featured on NPR.
Those who follow her on social media know that Grimes is also a photographer and avid gardener with a special penchant for roses. They also know that a new poem is apt to pop up on her wall at any given time, especially if something heavy is on her heart, usually in response to a report of social injustice.
Social justice is one of the themes readers find in books written by Grimes, often set against an urban landscape. Her themes, though, are wide-ranging: bullying, friendship, foster care, forgiveness, gratitude, empathy, identity, mental illness, loss, sexual assault—all find a place in her work. Whether the themes are light or heavy, the consistent thread of hope, in stories laced with humor, are hallmarks of books written by Nikki Grimes.
Her forthcoming titles to watch for are A Cup of Quiet, (Bloomsbury, April 2025) illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson, and Stronger Than with co-Author Stacy Wells, (HeartDrum, 2026) illustrated by E.B. Lewis. Watch for new additions to her Dyamonde Daniel chapter book series in 2025, as well! Check the bibliography on her website for a full listing.
