WVSU Alumni Authors

If you are a West Virginia State Alumnus who has published a book, article, magazine, or other publication, please contact us to add your name and publication to this list. For more information, please contact Belinda Fuller, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, at (304) 766-3387 or bfuller@wvstateu.edu.

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My Father's Daughter: An Untold Story 

Akanbi, Linda, Ed.D. '66

Linda B. Akanbi (Atkinson) grew up in Newport News, Virginia. She received her B.S. Degree in Education at West Virginia State University, where she majored in elementary education. She earned an M. Ed. Degree and an Ed.D Degree in reading education at the University of New York at Buffalo. She has taught at major colleges and universities in the United States and in Nigeria, educating teachers and training reading specialists. Most recently, she retired from Kennesaw State University, where she served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education and as Director of the P-12 Reading Institute. She was the recipient of the 2018 West Virginia State University Distinguished Alumnus Award for Educational Leadership from the WVSU National Alumni Association. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She likes to balance her professional writing with personal stories. She is currently working on a book of short stories about her life in Nigeria. 
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BickleyIn Spite of Obstacles

Bickley, Ancella, '52 

Ancella R. Bickley was educated at West Virginia State, Marshall, and WVU, where she earned her Ed.D. She served on the West Virginia African-American Tourism Advisory Committee. In addition to her history of the West Virginia Schools for the Colored Deaf and Blind, she has written several articles and co-edited the book Memphis Tennessee Garrison: The Remarkable Story of a Black Appalachian Woman.

CaseyBreaking In: The Author of a New Era

Casey, Wayne, '68

Wayne D. Casey is a native of Raleigh County of Stotesbury, W. Virginia. Growing up in the segregated South motivated him to break through barriers. He started with this prolific journey by becoming the first African American to attend Mark Twain High School. In his young adulthood, he later became the first African American in the managers training program at Travelers Insurance. 40 years of combined HR and private sector Federal & Local Government experience, managing and creating programs; promoting affirmative action and equal opportunities.

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Evelyn-HollandBrothers of the Dark Veil Series

Carolyn Evelyn-Holland, ’76

A self-proclaimed bibliophile and the author of the popular “Brothers of the Dark Veil” series.  She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Stars.  After graduation from West Virginia State University with a degree in Philosophy, she spent many years working in the legal field. One day she pulled her nose out of the pages of someone else’s book long enough to write her own stories…and never stopped.  She is from Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Hillsborough Township, where she works on her next novel.  

HenryLadies in Low Places

Henry, Mary Ann

Mary Ann Henry is a writer, teacher of writing, and Director of the Lowcountry Writers' Retreat. Born and raised in West Virginia, she now resides in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, where she is at work on a novel based on a story from her short story collection, Ladies in Low Places.

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HowardLittle B's Safety Coaching

Howard, Britt, '90

A diamond-shaped sign marks each entrance of their community: 'Drive Safely. We Love Our Kids.' The Howard Family embodies this sentiment by introducing their fresh series of books, 'Little B's Safety Coaching.' Graphically colored mascot 'Little B' will navigate parent-child readers through easy, succinct ways that they can be safe in the home, at the mall, on the computer, and much more.

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Inspirational ExpressionsA Journal of Poetic Inspirational Expressions

Huff, Bernard, '78

Bernard Huff is currently a licensed practicing attorney and a certified mediator in Indianapolis, Indiana. He took extensive basic and advanced mediation training courses. He has many years of legal experience and expertise in various legal areas in both public and private employment. He has served on the board of directors of several nonprofit, civic and professional organizations, including the Marion County Bar Association and the Indianapolis Professional Association as a founding member and its first chairman of the board for several years.

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Walter JohnsonI Can Do That!

Johnson, Walter, '61

Walter F. Johnson III is a retired United States Army brigadier general and founder of Eagle Group International, a multimillion-dollar contracting company that Lockheed Martin Corporation purchased. He was born in Charleston, S.C., and is a graduate of West Virginia State University, where he majored in zoology. He has written this book--his first--to remind everyone, especially young people, that the United States of America really is a land of tremendous opportunity. His story is both an inspiration and a delight. I Can Do That! Advice for Spiritual Entrepreneurs is Wally Johnson's personal testament to the adage that "God honors no drafts where there are no deposits."

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C. Milton KatesA Collection of Poems

Kates, C. Milton, '52

A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army who started his own business in Cleveland, Ohio in the solar energy and environmental remediation industry in 1977, Kates is an active member of the WVSU National Alumni Association and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Now retired, he lives in Auburn Township. He has two sons, Stephen and Dwayne, and two grandchildren, Jillian and Demarco. His poetry features individuals and organizations that have played key roles in his life and activities. 

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KempKeeper of the Fire

Kemp, Teresa, '79

5th Generation Quilter, Military Historian, Owner, Plantation Quilts Born in Baumholder, West Germany too late Dr. Howard & Serena (Strother) Wilson. She graduated from Berlin American High School & attended OSU in Columbus, OH. She transferred to WVSU and graduated with a BA degree. Kemp also received a BS degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Univ. in Atlanta, GA. With her parents, she opened the UGRR Secret Quilt Code Museum. The great-granddaughter of an SC plantation owner, David R. Strother & Ann Jones (Native Am.) & descendant of African ancestors who were former slaves/abolitionists, she's passionate about documenting her diverse history. 

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Earl LloydMoonfixer

Lloyd, Earl, '55

In 1950, future Hall of Famer Earl Lloyd became the first African American to play in a National Basketball Association game. A warm and gracious man, widely loved and respected, Lloyd has lived what he describes as an"incredible journey" and has spent eighty years gathering passionate lessons from that experience. In a series of extraordinary conversations with Sean Kirst, Lloyd reveals his fierce determination to succeed, his frustration with many young black men's plight, and his sincere desire for the nation to achieve true equality among its citizens.

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LynchAppalachian to Africa

Lynch, Samuel, '61

While living on campus at West Virginia State, Lynch captained the cheering squad and participated fully on campus in life in countless organizations, all the while breaking down racial barriers. He taught literacy and public health in Togo and Ghana, West Africa, for five years, which led to a full scholarship for a master's degree in public health at UCLA. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Southern California, where he taught; practiced psychology; conducted deep meditation workshops for the critically ill, and has traveled the world. He is retired and lives in Rancho Mirage, CA. 

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McDanielsAnd That's The Way It Was

McDaniels, Florence Baltimore, '56

And That's The Way it Was is a legacy to her family (daughter, son, and three grandsons and many nieces and nephews) as told by Florence Baltimore McDaniels. The intent is to tell how a family with little material things and wealth functioned and worked together to make a happy home. The family was poor, but the children didn't realize that they were because they had the most important necessity-love. 

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Arvil WileyChick and Scratch

Wiley, Arvil, '06

Arvil Wiley was born in Summersville, West Virginia, and raised in the small town of Nettie. He went to Richwood High School then attended West Virginia State University, where he obtained a BS in Business Administration. Arvil currently resides in Charleston, West Virginia, with his wife, Kristina. They have been married since 1993. Wiley has authored five children's books since 2011, and his wife, Kristina Wiley, has authored one children's book. A WVSU art student did the illustrations for each book.

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estee beckPrivacy Matters

Beck, Estee,'08

Dr. Estee Beck is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Beck published Privacy Matters with co-editor Les Hutchinson. The book examines how communications and writing educators, administrators, technological resource coordinators, and scholars can address the ways surveillance and privacy affect student and faculty composing, configure identity formation, and subvert the surveillance state. 

Matt-browningChicks and the City

Browning, Matt, '04

Matt Browning serves as the Director of Communications for WVSU Research and Public Service Division. Browning recently published Chicks and the City, which is a children's book about a chicken named Stu. Stu isn't a typical barnyard bird. From the top of the silo, he stares at the city in the distance, dreaming of lattes, museums, and penthouse suites. But the other animals warn him the city is no place for fowl. A chicken's home, they say, is on the farm. When Stu finds himself on a truck headed toward the bright lights and tall buildings, he decides to prove just how citified farming can be!

Arvil WileyWhere I Started is Not Where I Will Finish

Bratton Jr., Joel, '88

Joel Bratton was educated at West Virginia State, Coppin State, and Morgan State where he earned his Ed. D in Higher Education. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and Prince Hall Mason. After graduating from West Virginia State University, he went back to his hometown Baltimore City and started a program called ProjectHope which was a program aimed to serve unprivileged black males in his community.

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Arvil WileyYou Can Recover

Muhammad, Yusef  '05

 

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Please note that listings are subject to the discretion of WVSU Alumni Relations. The inclusion of books on our Alumni Authors page does not constitute an endorsement of these titles' contents or values.