Kelly Starling Lyons


Kelly Starling Lyons is a writer and children's book author. She is also one of the founding members of the blog The Brown Bookshelf, which is aimed at young African-American readers and features book reviews and author and illustrator interviews.

Personal

Lyons was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a high-school student, Lyons loved the works of Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry and set a goal to be an author.
As an adult, she read the book Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, which was the first time she had seen an African-American girl featured on the cover of a picture book. This inspired her to start writing fiction books for children that would feature African-American lead characters.
Lyons makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Lyons attended Syracuse University, where she earned a B.A. in African-American Studies, as well as her M.S. in Magazine Journalism. She has since worked for Ebony Magazine, The News & Observer, and the Syracuse Herald-Journal.

Books

Lyons has written six books for children that focus on aspects of African-American history and culture.