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Nick Chiles

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Nick Chiles
Born (1965-08-07) August 7, 1965 (age 59)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materYale University (BA), University of Georgia (MFA)
Occupation(s)Journalist and author
Known forAuthor of 20 books, three of which were NY Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Spouses
​
(divorced)​
  • Sadiqa Chiles
RelativesAngelou Ezeilo (sister)
Websitewww.nickchiles.com

Nick Chiles (born August 7, 1965) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 20 books.[1] He writes primarily about African-American life and culture.[2]

Early life

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Chiles grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father is the late pianist Walter Chiles, who was the leader of the jazz trio Chiles & Pettiford in the 1960s and of the funk band LTG Exchange in the 1970s.[3] Atlantic Records released the 1965 Chiles & Pettiford recording Live at Jilly's.[4] Walter Chiles wrote most of the LTG Exchange's songs, including their biggest hit, "Waterbed".[5]

Chiles attended St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City and received a B.A. in psychology from Yale University and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from University of Georgia.[6]

Career

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Chiles worked as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News and New York Newsday, where he contributed to a 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a fatal subway crash.[7] He later worked as an education reporter for the Star-Ledger.[8] Chiles has also worked as a ghostwriter.[9]

Chiles has worked as a literary agent with the Manhattan-based agency Aevitas Creative Management. He was a recipient of the Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship at Columbia University. Chiles was a member of the board overseeing the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter Schools; he is now a member of the board of the Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship. He is on the advisory board of the Hechinger Report, an independent newsroom covering inequity and innovation in education. He has served as a professor at Columbia Journalism School and at Princeton University as a recipient of the Ferris Fellowship. Chiles currently is a writer in residence and professor of journalism at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is also a communications consultant for the William Julius Wilson Institute at the Harlem Children's Zone.

Books

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Chiles has written or co-written 22 books, four of which were New York Times bestsellers: Disruptive Thinking: A Daring Strategy to Change How We Live, Lead, and Love (2023, co-authored with Bishop T.D. Jakes),[10] The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms (2010, co-authored with Kirk Franklin),[11] The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership (2013, written with Rev. Al Sharpton),[12] and Every Little Step: My Story,[13] (2016, written with Bobby Brown.)

Chiles teamed up with activist and former NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf to write his memoir, In the Blink of an Eye: An Autobiography, [14] published in October 2022 by Colin Kaepernick's publishing company, Kaepernick Publishing.

He co-wrote four books that were published in 2021: a parenting memoir with Academy Award-winning actor (and Grammy-winning singer) Jamie Foxx, called Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me;[15] a spiritually empowering self-help guide with pastor to the stars Rev. Tim Storey, called The Miracle Mentality: How to Tap into the Source of Magical Transformation in Your Life;[16] an inspiring tale of a young white boy, Cam Perron, and his life-long relationship with former Negro Leaguers, called Comeback Season: My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players (with foreword by Hank Aaron);[17] and a powerful look at the plight of Black males in America, written with renown nonprofit leader Shawn Dove, called I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men and Boys.[18]

Chiles and former NBA player Etan Thomas wrote Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge (2012).[19] Chiles and then-Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick collaborated on the 2012 book, Faith in the Dream. His book Justice While Black,[20] written with attorney Robbin Shipp, was a finalist for a 2014 NAACP Image Award.[21] He co-wrote the 2019 book Engage Connect Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders [22] with Angelou Ezeilo (née Chiles), his younger sister.

Chiles and his then wife, American author Denene Millner,[23] co-wrote the bestselling three book non-fiction relationship series, What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know, published by HarperCollins.[24][25][26] Their novel Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, published by Dutton, appeared on two bestseller lists, Essence and Blackboard. They also co-wrote the novels In Love And War and A Love Story.[27]

A short story by Chiles was included in the Ballantine anthology, Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, which won a 1996 American Book Award. Chiles and Jeff Jones also co-wrote a young adult novel called The Adventures of De-Ante Johnson: The Obsidian Knight.

Chiles lives in Athens, Georgia, with his wife Sadiqa Chiles.

References

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  1. ^ "Contributing writer Nick Chiles". hechingerreport.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  2. ^ "How-to book helps Black families survive dangers of criminal justice system". MSR Online | December 19, 2014
  3. ^ "LTG Exchange Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Atlantic Records Discography: 1965".
  5. ^ "The Very Best of LTG Exchange: Waterbed - LTG Exchange | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "Weddings: Denene Millner and Nicholas Chiles". The New York Times. 1997-08-24. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  7. ^ "Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist Jennifer Egan Coming to Campus". fandm.edu. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  8. ^ "Editor & Publisher - CLASS PROJECT FOR 'STAR-LEDGER'". editorandpublisher.com. Archived from the original on 2015-03-28.
  9. ^ "Deval Patrick, stumping for Obama in Charlotte, will also be auditioning for higher office". Boston.com.
  10. ^ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books - Best Sellers - Books - May 20, 2023 - The New York Times". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms by Kirk Franklin". PublishersWeekly.com.
  12. ^ "Book Review—The Rejected Stone—Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership by Al Sharpton with Nick Chiles". tnj.com. 17 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - July 3, 2016 - the New York Times". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "'You Can't Be For God And Oppression'; Kaepernick Is Publishing Autobiography On Life Of NBA Player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf". TheShadowLeague.com. 22 January 2022.
  15. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (3 December 2021). "This Season's Pop-Culture Memoirs, From Will Smith to Elvira". The New York Times.
  16. ^ "The Miracle Mentality". harpercollinsfocus.com.
  17. ^ "Negro League researcher Cam Perron talks about his new book, the Negro Leagues, and the times to come". deadspin.com. April 2021.
  18. ^ I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys. BookBaby. 6 January 2022.
  19. ^ Michael Lindgren (27 July 2012). ""Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge" by Etan Thomas with Nick Chiles". Washington Post.
  20. ^ "Wrestling with 'Justice While Black'". HuffPost. 5 January 2015.
  21. ^ "NAACP Image Awards 2015: Full list of nominees and winners". Los Angeles Times. 7 February 2015.
  22. ^ Ezeilo, Angelou; Chiles, Nick (12 November 2019). Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders. New Society Publishers. ISBN 978-0865719187.
  23. ^ "Weddings Denene Millner and Nicholas Chiles". New York Times, Published: August 24, 1997
  24. ^ "How to be married and stay satisfied". Jet: 12. 20 November 2000. ISSN 0021-5996.
  25. ^ Eisa Nefertari Ulen (2008). ""Street lit" sells like hotcakes. But at what cost?". The Crisis: 21. ISSN 0011-1422.
  26. ^ Chiles, Nick. "Bio". Nick Chiles. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  27. ^ "A LOVE STORY ". Publishers Weekly
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