Lori L. Tharps

Lori L. Tharps is the author of two award-winning non-fiction books, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America and Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain. Her debut novel, Substitute Me was released in August 2010. Her fourth book, Same Family, Different Colors: Confronting Colorism in America's Diverse Families (Beacon) was released in October, 2016.

When Tharps is not writing books, she teaches journalism at Temple University, where she is an associate professor in the School of Media and Communication. She also continues to write for magazines, newspapers and online media outlets and is the host of the podcast, My American Meltingpot.

Although it sounds rather boring, Tharps' greatest pleasure in life is reading. Other people's books of course, not her own.