Dwight "D." or "Doc" Watkins (born February 10) is an author,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

writer, and professor at The University of Baltimore. Watkins is a lecturer at the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

and ''New York Times'' bestselling author from East Baltimore.

Early life and education

Watkins attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. At eighteen, after losing his brother and best friend, Watkins began to use and sell narcotics. After a handful of "fateful encounters", he used his illicit profits to buy a bar. Watkins beat addiction, the streets and graduated from Johns Hopkins University, which inducted him into its prestigious Society of Scholars and named him a Distinguished Alumnus. He married lawyer Caron Brace in August 2019. In 2020, Watkins won City Lit's Dambach Award for literary service. In 2021 Watkins received the MLA William Wilson Maryland Author Award. Watkins is the writer of

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team me ...

's bestselling memoir ''Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope'' and staff writer on

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...

miniseries ''

We Own This City ''We Own This City'' is an American miniseries based on the nonfiction book of the same name by '' Baltimore Sun'' reporter Justin Fenton. The miniseries was developed and written by George Pelecanos and David Simon, and directed by Reinaldo ...

''. Watkins holds a Masters in Education from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, and an MFA in creative writing from

. I
2024 Watkins
was named a

Gordon Parks Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, and film director, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particu ...

Fellow.

Career

''The Beastside: Living (and Dying) While Black in America''

Watkins first book, ''The Beastside: Living (and Dying) While Black in America'' was published in 2015 under

David Talbot David Talbot (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist, author, activist and independent historian. Talbot is known for his books about the "hidden history" of U.S. power and the liberal movements to change America, as well as his p ...

and

Skyhorse Publishing Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont. History The current president and publisher is founder Tony Lyo ...

's investigative book imprint, Hot Books. ''The Beast Side'' tells a tale of two Baltimores, taking an in-depth look at systemic racism and the failure of the education system, particularly for black men. In 2016, ''The Beastside'' was a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award nominee.

''The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir''

''The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir'', published in 2016 by

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

, is a memoir that details the operations of a drug empire following Watkins' brother Bip's death, his acceptance to college, and the struggle to leave the trade behind. It was named as an editor's pick by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in May 2016. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' described the book as "A familiar story to fans of ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'', but Watkins provides a gritty, vivid first-person document of a desperate demographic." In 2017, ''The Cook Up'' was a Books for a Better Life Award Finalist.

''We Speak For Ourselves''

''We Speak For Ourselves'' is Watkins' third book, published in April 2019 by Atria is a collection of essays showcasing black voices in

east Baltimore East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. ''We Speak For Ourselves'' was the 2020 selection for the

Enoch Pratt Free Library The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the free public library system of Baltimore, Maryland. Its Central Library and office headquarters are located on 400 Cathedral Street (southbound) and occupy the northeastern three quarters of a city block bound ...

"''One Book Baltimore''".

''Where Tomorrow's Aren't Promised''

''Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised'' was published by

Gallery Books Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

in 2021. Watkins teamed up with

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

superstar

to document his journey from the gritty streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn and West

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to the

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

writes "Many sports memoirs start with an origin story, but this one is more thought-provoking than one might expect. Kudos to Watkins, who shapes the narrative and rhythm without stepping on Anthony’s voice."

''Black Boy Smile: A Memoir in Moments''

''Black Boy Smile'' was published in 2022 by Legacy Lit, a subsidiary of Hachette Books. Winner of the 2022 Paris Book Award for General Nonfiction, the book details Watkins's journey through the lens of masculinity in combination with his attempt to unlearn harmful toxic traits. Poet

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets,Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds)"Nikki Giovanni" ''E ...

praised ''Black Boy Smile'', saying "This is a book all young men should read." ''Black Boy Smile'' received starred reviews from both ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', which named the book as a top ten memoir of 2022 and ''

'', which ranked the book amongst the best nonfiction books and best books about Black life released in 2022, calling the work "A startling and moving celebration of a brutal life transformed by language and love." ''Black Boy Smile'' was listed as one of

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

's best books for adults in 2022. ''

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two electronic publications/newsletters focused on bookselling, books and book reviews. Overview With offices in Seattle, Washington, and Montclair, New Jersey, ''Shelf Awareness' ...

'' named it one of the best books of the year, and

Aspire TV Aspire TV was an Australian advertorial datacasting channel launched on 21 May 2013. The channel operated a full-time format of mostly US produced paid programming and, to a lesser extent, other paid program content including religious progra ...

followed by listing the book as one of its top five celebrity memoirs of the year.

''The Wire: The Complete Visual History''

''The Wire: The Complete Visual History'' was published in 2022 by Insight Edition and distributed by

Simon and Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

. After the success of

's ''

'', Watkins and ''

'' creator

collaborated on this retrospective of the critically-acclaimed show.

''Salon''

Watkins is currently an

editor at large An editor-at-large is a journalist who contributes content to a publication. Sometimes such an editor is called a roving reporter or roving editor. Unlike an editor who works on a publication from day to day and is hands-on, an editor-at-large con ...

for the online magazine, ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, D. University of Baltimore faculty Writers from Baltimore African-American writers Living people 1980 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people