Lynn Joseph is an American lawyer and author of children's books. Her novella '' The Color of My Words'' won an Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature and a

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's literature, children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were ...

Early life and education

Lynn Joseph was born in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and moved to the United States at the age of nine. After moving to the United States with her family, she spent summers in Trinidad. As a student, she wrote poems and stories, and she published her work in student publications. She graduated from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

with a B.A. in 1986 and from Fordham University Law School with a J.D. in 1993. After college, she worked as an editorial assistant at Harper & Row Children's Books. During her career as an attorney, she worked for the City of New York in litigation, and for Rohn & Carpenter, a law firm based in the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

Literary career

In 1990, Joseph published the children's book ''Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems'', which features 13 poems narrated by a child describing her life in

. In 1991, she released ''A Wave in Her Pocket: Stories from Trinidad'', a children's book of folklore from Trinidad, and released ''The Mermaid's Twin Sister: More Stories from Trinidad'' in 1994. In 1992, she released ''An Island Christmas'', which describes a Trinidad Christmas from the child narrator's perspective. In 1994, she also released ''Jasmine's Parlour Day'', a children's book featuring a story of a mother and daughter. In 1998, Joseph released ''Jump Up Time: A Trinidad Carnival Story'', a children's book about two sisters during the Trinidad Carnival, and ''Fly, Bessie, Fly'', a children's book about

Bessie Coleman Elizabeth Coleman (January 26, 1892April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviation, civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman and first Native Americans in the United States, Native American to hold a Pilot certification in ...

, the first Black woman aviator. In 2000, she released '' The Color of My Words'', a novella written for children that features a child protagonist and her life in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. In 2013, Joseph released the novel ''Flowers in the Sky'', featuring a teenage protagonist and her life in the Dominican Republic and the Washington Heights neighborhood in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2015, she released ''Dancing in the Rain'', a novel featuring Dominican children and their experiences in the

aftermath of the September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks transformed Presidency of George W. Bush, the first term of President George W. Bush and led to what he referred to as the war on terror. The accuracy of describing it as a "war" and its political motivations and conseq ...

era.

Awards

She won the 1994 Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature for ''The Mermaid’s Twin Sister'', and she won the award again in 2000 for '' The Color of My Words''. ''The Color of My Words'' also earned a

. Her manuscript for ''The Truth Is'' was a finalist for the 2015 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature.

Publications

*''Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems'' (1990) *''A Wave in Her Pocket: Stories from Trinidad'' (1991) *''An Island Christmas'' (1992) *''The Mermaid's Twin Sister: More Stories from Trinidad'' (1994) *''Jasmine's Parlour Day'' (1994) *''Jump Up Time: A Trinidad Carnival Story'' (1998) *''Fly, Bessie, Fly'' (1998) *'' The Color of My Words'' (2000) *''Flowers in the Sky'' (2013) *''Dancing in the Rain'' (2015)

Personal life

Joseph resides in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Lynn Living people Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States American children's writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American writers Writers from New York (state) Trinidad and Tobago writers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago women writers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago writers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women writers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago writers Year of birth missing (living people)