Nikki Shannon Smith

Nikki Shannon Smith is an educator, presenter, and the award-winning author of 24 published and forthcoming children’s books. Her titles include the middle grade novel, STRANDED (Scholastic), which is a nominee for the 2026 Georgia Children’s Book Award, OUR BEAUTIFUL COLORS (Little Golden Books), and the board book series Brown Baby Parade (Crown Books). Nikki is also the author of the Azaleah Lane chapter book series and five titles in Capstone’s Girls Survive series. LENA AND THE BURNING OF GREENWOOD: A TULSA RACE MASSACRE SURVIVAL STORY won the 2023 Oklahoma Book Award. Her upcoming titles include LETTERS TO MISTY: HOW TO MOVE THROUGH LIFE WITH CONFIDENCE AND GRACE co-written with Misty Copeland (Aladdin, May 2025), DEEP SECRETS: A TITANIC NOVEL (Scholastic, 2026), and PRINCE (Little Golden Books, 2026). Nikki’s writing is informed by her love of words and thirty years of elementary school teaching. She’s represented by Jennifer March Soloway of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Learn more about Nikki at https://nikkishannonsmith.com/home-page