American author and poet (born 1995)
KB Brookins (born August 28, 1995) is a Black American author . Brookins is a 2023 Creative Writing fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts and the author of three books: How To Identify Yourself with a Wound , Freedom House , and Pretty: A Memoir.[ 1] [ 2]
Early life and Career
Brookins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.[ 3] They attended Texas Christian University and graduated in 2017.[ 4] Their work is often described as hopeful, unique, and candid.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
Freedom House explores themes of race , transgender identity, and gentrification among others.[ 8] [ 9] [ 10] Vogue called their writing style in the book "urgent and timely while still holding space for the possibility of a life lived on one’s own terms."[ 11] Freedom House won the 2024 Stonewall Book Award Barbara Gittings Literature Award and an award with the Texas Institute of Letters .[ 12] [ 13] It was named a best book of 2023 by Autostraddle , Texas Observer , Ms. , and Chicago Review of Books .[ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
In 2024, Brookins published their debut memoir called Pretty.[ 17] [ 18] It has gotten favorable reviews in Kirkus Reviews and GLAAD among other venues.[ 19] [ 20] [ 21] Pretty is a finalist for the 2025 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Nonfiction. [ 22]
Personal life
Brookins identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.[ 23]
Works
Books
Poems
Essays
Zines
Art Exhibits
Freedom House: An Exhibition. 2024[ 43]
In Anthology
Edited
Winter Storm Project: Austin, Texas Artists on Winter Storm Uri . Winter Storm Project. 13 February 2022. ISBN 9780578361123 .
Awards and fellowships
References
^ This article incorporates public domain material from Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins . National Endowment for the Arts .
^ St. Jude, Jenn (2022). "Validated, Represented, and Connected to a Larger Narrative: An Interview with KB" . Chicago Review of Books .
^ "KB (Brookins)" . id.loc.gov . Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Wilson, Jeff (2023-05-10). "KB Brookins: How It Started ... How It's Going" . TCU Magazine . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "KB Brookins' 'Pretty: A Memoir' " . Bay Area Reporter . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ Casey (2023-12-12). "65 of the Best Queer Books of 2023" . Autostraddle . Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ Journal, Fahmidan (2024-08-14). "Book Review: Pretty-By KB Brookins" . Fahmidan’s Substack . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ Hill, Chaney (2023-04-12). " "Freedom House" Imagines a House for All" . Southern Review of Books . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "Review: KB Brookins's FREEDOM HOUSE as Manifesto" . Honey Literary . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ Smith, Gabriella (2023-04-21). "Overwhelming in the Best Way - Deep South Magazine" . Deep South Magazine . Archived from the original on 2024-06-22. Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "The Best New Poetry Collections to Read (or Preorder) Now" . Vogue . 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ a b "Home" . texasinstituteofletters.org . 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2024-03-18 .
^ Wilson, Jackie (2024-01-29). "UPK's 'Gay Poems for Red States' named 2024 Stonewall Book Award Honor Book" . UKNow . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "61 Notable Debuts by Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-conforming Authors" . Chicago Review of Books . 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ Olsen, Lise (2023-12-13). "The Texas Observer's 2023 Must-Read Lone Star Books" . The Texas Observer . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ Strand, Karla J. (2023-04-20). "Reads for the Rest of Us: The Best Poetry of the Last Year" . Ms. Magazine . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Review: Pretty: A Memoir by KB Brookins" . The Florida Review . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "[Review] Pretty by KB Brookins | Erica Talks Books" . www.ericatalksbooks.com . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ Specter, Emma (2024-05-23). "In Their New Memoir 'Pretty', KB Brookins Blends Poetry and Prose to Paint a Vivid Portrait of Black Southern Transmasculinity" . Vogue . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ ortiz, mónica teresa (2024-05-28). "Book review of Pretty by KB Brookins" . BookPage | Discover your next great book! . Retrieved 2024-05-28 .
^ Associate, Kayla Thompson, Communities of Color (2024-06-07). "KB Brookins' 'Pretty: A Memoir' and Manifesto for the Transformative Power of Black, Queer, and Trans Stories | GLAAD" . Retrieved 2025-08-19 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ a b Lewis, L. D. (2025-07-30). "Announcing the Finalists for the 37th Annual Lambda Literary Awards" . Lambda Literary . Retrieved 2025-07-31 .
^ "Pretty: A Memoir by Kb Brookins" . www.publishersweekly.com . Retrieved 2025-08-19 .
^ "Pretty by KB Brookins: 9780593537145" . PenguinRandomhouse.com . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ "Freedom House" . Deep Vellum . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ "How to Identify Yourself with a Wound" . Kallisto Gaia Press . Retrieved 2024-04-11 .
^ a b c d "March 2023" . Poetry Magazine . Poetry Foundation . March 2023.
^ "KB Brookins | Kenyon Review Author" . The Kenyon Review . Retrieved 2023-10-02 .
^ "miCRo: "What's on your mind, KB?" by KB Brookins - The Cincinnati Review" . 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Love Machine | Poetry Database | Split This Rock" . www.splitthisrock.org . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Poets, Academy of American. "Good Grief by KB Brookins - Poems | Academy of American Poets" . Poets.org . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "We Are Not Untouchable" . 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Juarez, Alex (2022-05-02). "My Gender Won't Fit in the Family Car" . Electric Literature . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "American Poetry Review - KB Brookins - "& Somehow, Men Are Nicer to Me Now" " . American Poetry Review . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "KB Brookins on "T Shot #4" " . Poetry Society of America . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Freedom House: A Sonic Bibliography" . Oxford American . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ Brookins, K. B. (2022-12-21). "Trans Texans Are Being Surveilled, This Is Everyone's Issue" . Autostraddle . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "How Kendrick Lamar Stumbles Toward Queer And Trans Allyship On "Auntie Diaries" - Okayplayer" . www.okayplayer.com . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "This Is What It's Like Going To The Gynecologist When You're Black, Trans And In Texas" . HuffPost . 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "Why I Won't Be Coming Out to My Family During the Holidays" . Teen Vogue . 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ "A new relationship to pain : poems" . www.worldcat.org . Retrieved 2023-07-27 .
^ "zines" . KB Brookins . Retrieved 2023-07-27 .
^ Anderson, Carys. "The Off Beat: KB Brookins' Poetry Book-Turned-Art Exhibit" . www.austinchronicle.com . Retrieved 2024-04-14 .
^ "Nia KB" . Lambda Literary . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "2021 Emerging Voices Fellows and Mentors" . PEN America .
^ "Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize | Academy of American Poets" . Academy of American Poets . 2022.
^ "The Academy of American Poets Announces 2022 Winners of the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize" . poets.org . Retrieved 2023-05-17 .
^ "Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins" .
^ admin (2009-09-09). "Stonewall Book Awards List" . Round Tables . Retrieved 2023-07-20 .
^ RAGARCIA (2024-02-05). " "Freedom House" wins 2024 Stonewall Barbara Gittings Literature Award" . News and Press Center . Retrieved 2024-02-14 .
^ "Saints & Sinners Festival Renames Award to Honor Dorothy Allison, Felice Picano" . PublishersWeekly.com . Retrieved 2025-05-01 .
^ Anderson, Marc (2025-01-02). "GLCA Announces Winner of 2025 New Writers Award" . Great Lakes Colleges Association . Retrieved 2025-05-01 .
^ Aton, Francesca (2025-05-01). "The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Names 2025–26 Artists-in-Residence" . ARTnews.com . Retrieved 2025-05-01 .
^ "KB Brookins" . Ragdale . Retrieved 2025-08-01 .
^ "KB Brookins - Black Mountain Institute" . 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2025-07-31 .
External links
International National Artists Other