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More About Charles R. Smith Jr.

Charles R. Smith Jr. is an award-winning author, poet and photographer. His awards include the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children (2025), the Knickerbocker Award in New York (2024), the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration (2010) for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem, My People and a Coretta Scott King Honor Author Award (2008) for his biography on Muhammad Ali, Twelve Rounds to Glory. Many of his books have made notable lists and garnered reluctant reader awards, proving that kids that don’t like to read, do like to read his books.

Charles has combined his passions of writing and photography to create over forty- five titles, covering a variety of subjects from basketball with the Sports Royalty series, featuring Hoop Kings and Queens, to Black history with 28 Days, to diversity with I Am America and I Am the World, to Greek mythology with The Mighty 12, to biography with Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix, Bessie the Motorcycle Queen, and Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion.

But Charles is more than a photographer and author of books. He has worked as a fitness trainer, studied martial arts, boxing, gymnastics and ninja obstacles, even appearing on the tv show American Ninja Warrior in 2017. He attributes those physical skills to his success as an author and believes in fighting ignorance with knowledge. In his school presentations, Charles discusses the importance of developing the mind, body and spirit and likes to remind students and aspiring authors: "If you feed the mind, challenge the body and ignite the spirit, you can achieve your dreams.”

You can find Charles online at:

charlesrsmithjr.com

YouTube

Charles’ strengths include…

Researching for biographies and non-fiction
Poetry
Poetic Structures
Rhyme
Storytelling in verse
Picture book structure
Idea generation
Visual connection to words
Working with editors as a writer AND visual artist
Poetry Performance for children

What Charles is looking for…

Charles is looking for a mentee who is dedicated to their craft and can handle criticism. Most important, he wants someone who can create something from nothing and see it to completion.

He hopes to connect with someone who has projects in mind or in production. But also, someone who wants to learn the ins and outs of the children’s book industry.

A Note from Charles:

“Details matter. As an author whose primary form is verse, I am a stickler for correct spelling, punctuation and following instructions. I do this to establish a level of excellence and attention to detail from the beginning. If you want to do this professionally, you need to have professional habits.

I have been in the children's book industry since 1997 and have worked with some great editors and publishers over the years. Unfortunately, not once have I ever sat across a Black male who was an editor. I want to be a mentor to change that. In addition to individual project/artist development, I want to show Black men the variety of paths that exist in this industry as a whole, with an eye to the future.”

Charles’ Picture Books

Note that this is only some of Charles’ books. For a full list of his works, visit his website.

*Black Diamond Kings,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Adrian Brandon

*Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Edel Rodriguez

*Through the Telescope: Mae Jemison dreams of space,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Evening Monteiro

*Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Leo Espinosa

*28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr., Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

*Bessie the Motorcycle Queen,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Charlot Kristensen

*Brick by Brick,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Floyd Cooper

*Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans

*Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Frank Morrison

*12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali,* written by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier

*I Am America,* words and photography by Charles R. Smith Jr.

*I am the World,* words and photography by Charles R. Smith Jr.

*My People,* words by Langston Hughes, photography by Charles R. Smith Jr.

If Charles created a Visual Wish List, it would be made up of…

*Unless otherwise stated, the below serves as a wish list only. Each mentor is excited about the opportunity to find a manuscript they can’t stop thinking about. Please apply if you think you’d be a good fit.