the University of Miami, and the summer Imagi-
nation creative writing conference at Cleveland
State University.
Her novels are The Between (1995), My Soul
to Keep (1997), and its sequel, The Living Blood
(2001), a folklore-laden and suspense-filled tale
that is both powerful and poignant. Set in the
United States and Ethiopia, The Living Blood, which
received a 2002 American Book Award, chronicles
the unfolding of an ancient secret. In 2000, actor
Blair Underwood shot footage in Lalibela, Ethio-
pia, as part of her effort to make the film version of
My Soul to Keep. Noted as one of the Best Books of
the Year by Publishers Weekly magazine, My Soul to
Kee p also garnered a nomination from the Horror
Writers Association for the Bram Stoker Award for
Outstanding Achievement in a Novel. The Between
was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for
Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel. Pub-
lishers Weekly also named The Living Blood one of
the best novels of the year.
Due also contributed to the anthology of sci-
ence fiction stories and essays Dark Matter: A Cen-
tury of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
(2000), edited by Sheree R. Thomas, and Best Black
Women’s Erotica (2001), a showcase of original,
erotic literature edited by Blanche Richardson.
Due’s short story “Patient Zero” was included in
two best-of-the-year science fiction anthologies for
the year 2000—Year’s Best SF 6, edited by David G.
Hartwell, and The Year’s Best Science Fiction: 17th
Annual Collection, edited by Gardner R. Dozois.
Known for her style of supernatural suspense,
Due is thought to be among a cadre of African-
American writers who are redefining the genre. She
acknowledges being influenced by writers such as
OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, Franz Kafka, TONI MORRISON,
and Stephen King.
Due’s richly vibrant collection of writing also
consists of news stories and columns published
in newspapers through the years. The storyteller
worked as a full-time journalist as she crafted her
fiction writing. At The Miami Herald, the former
features writer helped the lovelorn through her
syndicated column on relationships. In 1993, her
story on Hurricane Andrew’s impact on children
was part of coverage that garnered a Pulitzer Prize
for the Herald. The paper received the prize for
public service for helping readers cope with the
hurricane’s devastation and showing how lax zon-
ing, inspection, and building codes contributed to
the storm’s effects. Before working full time at the
Herald, Due interned at The New York Times and
The Wall Street Journal.
Due’s foray into historical fiction resulted in
The Black Rose (2000), an examination of the life
of Madame C. J. Walker, who, though born a slave
on a Louisiana plantation in 1867, rose from in-
dignity and poverty to create a beauty empire. She
also was a leading philanthropist and activist in
many causes, including antilynching campaigns
and efforts to desegregate the military. The Black
Rose, based on research started by late author Alex
Haley, earned Due an Image Award nomination
from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE-
MENT OF COLORED PEOPLE.
One World/Ballantine published Due’s fam-
ily civil rights memoir, Freedom in the Family: A
Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil
Rights, in 2003. Coauthored with her mother, Free-
dom in the Family recalls the novelist’s childhood
as the daughter of a civil rights activist, Patricia
Stephens Due, who details her own involvement
in the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. In 1960, when Pa-
tricia Stephens Due was a 19-year-old freshman
at FAMU, she and five classmates purposely tried
to break the color barrier at the segregated lunch
counter of the Tallahassee Woolworth’s store. The
students ordered food, were refused service and
were asked to leave. Patricia Stephens Due spent
49 days in jail for sitting in at the lunch counter,
an incident recognized as the first “jail-in” of the
student sit-in movement. The novelist’s father,
John Due, was a law student at FAMU, where he
assisted fellow students and participated in free-
dom rides. After he passed the bar exam, John Due
represented the Congress of Racial Equality and
other civil rights organizations as well as individu-
als such as a St. Augustine dentist who was brutally
beaten by the Ku Klux Klan.
The author started a scholarship fund in her
parents’ names at their alma mater and her birth-152 Due, Tananarive