Santi Elijah Holley: On Writing About Black Liberation
Santi Elijah Holley discusses the process of writing his new biography, An Amerikan Family.
Santi Elijah Holley has reported for nearly a decade on the intersection of culture, music, race, religion, and politics. He has contributed to numerous national and international periodicals, including The Guardian, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and The Economist, and his book reviews appear regularly in The Washington Post. He has been a guest on radio, television, and podcasts, including The Majority Report With Sam Seder and Bad With Money With Gaby Dunn.
During his years of reporting, he has embedded himself with confrontational Christian street preachers in Cincinnati, bunked at an historic multiracial communal farm in south Georgia, met with elder Black Panthers in New York, and been tear gassed by federal police in Portland during the 2020 protests for racial justice. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
In this post, Santi discusses the process of writing his new biography, An Amerikan Family, his hope for readers, and more!
Name: Santi Elijah Holley
Literary agent: Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency
Book title: An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release date: May 23, 2023
Genre/category: Biography/history/race/American studies/social science
Previous titles: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads
Elevator pitch for the book: A gripping history of the Black liberation movement and the long fight for racial justice in America, as seen and influenced by the revolutionary Shakur family—home to Assata, Afeni, Tupac, and others.
What prompted you to write this book?
I’ve been a fan of Tupac Shakur’s music for many years, but only in recent years did I begin to examine his lyrics and interviews more closely, and I was stunned by the depth of his knowledge about the Black liberation struggle and his commitment to highlighting racial and social injustices. I sought out more information about his mother Afeni Shakur, his stepfather Mutulu Shakur, and other family members, and I was surprised and disappointed to learn how little had been written about this remarkable family and this pivotal chapter of American history.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I first began thinking about this book in the summer of 2020 (there wasn’t much else to do that summer but think and ponder). I finished drafting my book proposal fairly quickly, and it wasn’t very long before the proposal was accepted by my editor Rakia Clark. The finished book is almost exactly how I’d first envisioned it, which is a testament to the trust of Rakia and the Mariner team.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Because this book chronicles a highly charged and often incendiary piece of American history, I was concerned that, when I turned in my manuscript, the higher-ups would have some trepidation over the content, or ask me to censor or revise certain sections to make it more palatable to a particular market.
That wasn’t at all the case. If anything, I had to be reassured by Rakia that the book was solid and that I had the team’s full support.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
When I first began reaching out to Shakur family members, family friends, and other Black liberation movement elders and veterans, I was worried no one would agree to speak with me. This is understandably a sensitive story for many of these survivors.
I was amazed when people responded and agreed to share their stories with me. They understood how important their stories were and they recognized the value in documenting this important history.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Of course, I want readers to be riveted and glued to their seats while reading this book, but I also expect they will learn a lot about the long and difficult struggle for racial justice in the U.S. I also expect readers will gain a greater understanding of—if not respect for—this incredible family and its impact on today’s art and activism.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Don’t quit.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
