Felicia Pride is an American author, screenwriter, producer, and director. She is the author of six books, including the young adult novel ''Patterson Heights''. Pride has written for the television shows ''

Queen Sugar Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

'' and ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

''. Her 2020 directorial debut '' tender'' received the STARZ/Lionsgate Short Film Award at the 2020

BlackStar Film Festival The BlackStar Film Festival is a Philadelphia film festival focused on films about and by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. It has been described as the "Black Sundance. The festival is named after Marcus Garvey's shipping ...

Early life and education

Pride was born in 1979 in

Baltimore, Maryland 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 ...

. Her family moved to

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

when she was young. She lived there until the age of eleven before returning to Baltimore to complete middle and high school. She attended

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

where she studied marketing. Pride received her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in writing and publishing from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

in 2005.

Career

Books

Pride began her writing career in 2001, writing for the community newspaper ''Black Reign News'' based in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

. Over the period of 15 years, Pride has authored six books. Her motivational book of essays, ''The Message: Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs'' was published in 2007. The book has been used as a teaching tool in classrooms across the country and was re-issued by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...

. Her

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

, ''Patterson Heights'' was a 2010

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Pick for Reluctant Readers.

TV and film

Pride's first written film was the dramatic short ''The End Again'' (2014) starring

Columbus Short Columbus Keith Short Jr. (born September 19, 1982) is an American actor and choreographer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman (of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' fame). He is best known for his roles ...

and Tanee McCall, directed by Crystal C. Roberson and co-produced with Latisha Fortune. The film was written as a prequel to the in-production feature film ''OpenEnded'' is in production. Pride was selected as a ''

Film Independent The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

'' Screenwriting Fellow in 2016. Pride joined her first writer's room for the fourth season of ''

'', and was also the story editor for the show's fifth season. She is also on the writing staff of the seventeenth season of ''

''. Her directorial debut was the short film '' tender'', about two Black women in the aftermath of a one-night stand. The film received the STARZ/Lionsgate Short Film Award at the 2020

. That year she also co-wrote and executive produced her first feature drama film '' Really Love'', which received a Special Jury Recognition for Acting award at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

2020. In April 2021 it was announced that Pride's romantic drama script ''Like It's the Last'' is in development by

Will Packer Will Packer (born April 11, 1974) is an American film producer who founded Will Packer Productions, and Will Packer Media. Packer has produced or executive produced a wide range of movies that have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the ...

and James Lopez, and she is also an executive producer on the project.

Works

Books

* ''The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs'' (2007) * ''Hallway Diaries'' (2007) * ''Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates First Girlfriends'' (2007) * ''Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates School Politics'' (2008) * ''Patterson Heights'' (2009) * ''To Create: Black Writers, Filmmakers, Storytellers, Artists and Media Makers Riff on Art, Careers, Life, and the Beautiful Mess in Between'' (2012) * ''The Message: Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs'' (reissued; 2012) * ''The Educator's Guide to The Message: A Digital Companion'' (2012)

Short fiction

* ''It’s All Love: Black Writers on Soul Mates Family and Friends'' edited by Marita Golden (2009)

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

*2010 – Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers,

(for ''Patterson Heights)'' *2013 – Media Fellow at the Center for Media & Social Impact,

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

*2013 – Writers in School Resident,

PEN/Faulkner Foundation PEN/Faulkner Foundation (est. 1980) is an independent charitable arts foundation which supports the art of writing and encourages readers of all ages.Film Independent The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

*2017 – Writers on the Verge,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pride, Felicia Living people African-American women writers 21st-century American businesspeople American business writers Women business writers American educators Literacy advocates Emerson College alumni Towson University alumni American women business executives 1979 births American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century African-American women African-American film producers African-American film directors American women film directors 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American businesspeople