VIRGINIA HAMILTON, the first black person to win a Newbery Medal and the first children's book author to be awarded a MacArthur genius grant, won the Coretta Scott King Award for "The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales." In her lifetime, Virginia wrote and published 41 books in multiple genres that spanned picture books and folktales, mysteries and science fiction, realistic novels and biography. Woven into her books is a deep concern with memory, tradition, and generational legacy, especially as they helped define the lives of African Americans. Virginia described her work as "Liberation Literature." She won every major award in youth literature.
LEO and DIANE DILLON, recepients of two Caldecott Medals, have illustrated five books by Virginia Hamilton, including the original black-and-white illustrations in "The People Could Fly" collection, "Many Thousand Gone," and "Her Stories."