Oxfam Ambassador Shonda Buchanan is the author of The Lost Songs of Nina Simone (May 2025) and the award-winning memoir Black Indian, chosen by PBS NewsHour as a “Top 20 books to read to learn about institutional racism.” Associate Professor in the Department of English at Western Michigan University and faculty in Alma College's MFA Program in Creative Writing, Shonda has published in The Mississippi Review, Tab Review, Red Ink Review, the Los Angeles Times, the LA Weekly, Indian Country Today, Capital & Main, Westways Magazine, Sisters of AARP and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Thrice Pushcart Prize nominee, a Best of the Net nominee and a California Arts Council Established Artist Fellow, Shonda is a USC Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities Fellow and a City of Los Angeles (COLA) Department of Cultural Affairs Master Artist Fellow. An English Language Specialist with the Department of State and PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and Mentor, Shonda’s works-in-progress are America's Bloodflowers and Children of the Mixed Blood Trail. For more information, visit www.shondabuchanan.com.