Photo of Brittany Thurman, a Black woman with short curly hair, wearing a brigh orange top and white earrings.

Brittany Thurman

MFA DRAMATIC WRITING, 2013

Brittany J. Thurman is an award-winning children’s author who graduated from CMU’s MFA Dramatic Writing program in 2013. She is the author of “Forever and Always”, illustrated by Shamar Knight Justice (Greenwillow/HarperCollins), “Fly”, illustrated by Anna Cunha (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Simon and Schuster), “Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams” and “Fearless: The Takeover”, co-written with Mandy Gonzalez (Aladdin/Simon and Schuster). Brittany’s upcoming titles include “The First Library: The True Story by and For Black America”, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Clarion/HarperCollins), “Come Catch a Dream”, illustrated by Islenia Mil (Greenwillow/HarperCollins), and two middle-grade novels in the podcast adaptation of “Opal Watson, Private Eye” (Pinna/HarperCollins). Brittany’s picture book, “Fly”, won the 2023 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text. “Fly” and “Forever and Always” represented Kentucky for the Library of Congress, “Great Reads from Great Places.”

A former children’s specialist, Brittany is currently on a tour of libraries throughout Kentucky for her book “Forever and Always.”