Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison was an American novelist. She was born in Lorain, Ohio, in 1931. She wrote powerful novels about the African American experience. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, the first African American woman to do so.

Early Life

Morrison grew up in a family that loved storytelling and music. She was an excellent student and studied English at Howard University and Cornell University. She became an editor at a major publishing house and helped publish the work of other Black writers.

A portrait of writer Toni Morrison from her first book cover.
A portrait of writer Toni Morrison from her first book cover. (From dust jacket: "Photograph: Bert Andrews" / Wikimedia Commons)

Big Achievements

Morrison wrote 11 novels, including Beloved, Song of Solomon, and The Bluest Eye. Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Fun Facts

  • Morrison was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • She worked as a book editor before becoming a novelist.
  • She wrote her first novel while raising two sons as a single mother.

Did You Know?

Morrison once said, 'If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.' She wrote the stories she felt were missing from American literature.