Felicia Pride

{{Short description|American author, educator, and entrepreneur}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Felicia Pride

| image = FeliciaP.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Pride in 2014

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland

| occupation = Author, screenwriter, director, producer

| education =

| nationality =

| years_active = 2001–present

| genre = Creative nonfiction, hip-hop, African-American literature, Young adult literature

| alma_mater = Towson University (BA)
Emerson College (MA)

| notableworks = tender

| website = {{URL|https://feliciapride.com/|Official website}}

}}

Felicia Pride is an American author, screenwriter, producer, and director. She is the author of six books, including the young adult novel Patterson Heights. Pride has written for the television shows Queen Sugar and Grey's Anatomy. Her 2020 directorial debut tender received the STARZ/Lionsgate Short Film Award at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival.{{cite news|last1=N'Duka|first1=Amanda|title=Film Independent Unveils Screenwriting Lab Slate, Names Fellowship Recipient|url=https://deadline.com/2016/09/film-independent-screenwriting-lab-fellowship-winner-1201813900/|publisher=Deadline|date=September 6, 2015}}{{Cite web|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=2021-04-13|title=Will Packer Productions Teams With 'Grey's Anatomy' Writer Felicia Pride For 'Like It's the Last'|url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/will-packer-productions-felicia-pride-like-its-the-last-1234733026/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}

Early life and education

Pride was born in 1979 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her family moved to West Orange, New Jersey when she was young. She lived there until the age of eleven before returning to Baltimore to complete middle and high school.{{cite web|title=Felicia Pride encourages students at her alma mater to #BeTheDream|url=https://storify.com/pridecollab/felicia-pride-encourages-students-at-her-alma-mate|website=Storify}} She attended Towson University where she studied marketing. Pride received her master's degree in writing and publishing from Emerson College in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.emerson.edu/emerson-profiles/felicia-pride |title=Felicia Pride | Emerson College |publisher=Emerson.edu |date= |accessdate=2014-02-27}}

Career

= Books =

Pride began her writing career in 2001, writing for the community newspaper Black Reign News based in Staten Island, New York. Over the period of 15 years, Pride has authored six books. Her motivational book of essays, The Message: Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs was published in 2007. The book has been used as a teaching tool in classrooms across the country and was re-issued by NBCUniversal.{{cite web|url=http://hiphopwired.com/2012/10/16/the-message-life-lessons-from-hip-hops-greatest-songs-focuses-on-rap-messages-for-youth/ |title=The Message: Life Lessons From Hip Hop's Greatest Songs Focuses On Rap Messages For Youth |publisher=Hip-Hop Wired |date=2012-10-16 |accessdate=2014-02-27}}{{cite web|author=Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-01-13-song-messages_N.htm |title=Read between the lyrics of these pop hits - USATODAY.com |publisher=Usatoday30.usatoday.com |date=2008-01-14 |accessdate=2014-02-27}}{{cite web|last=Pride |first=Felicia |url=http://www.nbcpublishing.com/book/30/ |title=The Educators' Guide to The Message |publisher=NBC Publishing |date=2012-10-08 |accessdate=2014-02-27}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18343068 |title=Getting 'The Message' from Hip-Hop Lyrics |publisher=NPR |date= |accessdate=2014-02-27}} Her young adult novel, Patterson Heights was a 2010 American Library Association Pick for Reluctant Readers.{{cite web|title=2010 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers|url=http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/quickpicks/qp2010|website=American Library Association|publisher=Young Adult Library Services Association}}

= TV and film =

Pride's first written film was the dramatic short The End Again (2014) starring Columbus Short and Tanee McCall, directed by Crystal C. Roberson and co-produced with Latisha Fortune.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2014-03-24|title=Exclusive First Look at Columbus Short in Short Romantic Drama 'The End Again'|url=https://shadowandact.com/exclusive-first-look-at-columbus-short-in-short-romantic-drama-the-end-again|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Shadow and Act|language=en}} The film was written as a prequel to the in-production feature film OpenEnded is in production.{{Cite web|title=Exclusive: Tanee McCall Discusses Her New Film, The End Again, and Opens Up About Her Marriage to Columbus Short|url=https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/exclusive-tanee-mccall-discusses-her-new-film-the-end-1790885793|access-date=2021-04-25|website=The Grapevine|date=10 October 2014 |language=en-us}} Pride was selected as a Film Independent Screenwriting Fellow in 2016.{{cite news|last1=N'Duka|first1=Amanda|date=September 6, 2015|title=Film Independent Unveils Screenwriting Lab Slate, Names Fellowship Recipient|publisher=Deadline|url=https://deadline.com/2016/09/film-independent-screenwriting-lab-fellowship-winner-1201813900/}}

Pride joined her first writer's room for the fourth season of Queen Sugar, and was also the story editor for the show's fifth season.{{Cite web|last=Jackson|first=Angelique|date=2021-04-13|title=Will Packer Productions Teams With Felicia Pride for Track & Field Romantic Drama 'Like It's the Last'|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/will-packer-productions-felicia-pride-like-its-the-last-1234949654/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Variety|language=en-US}} She is also on the writing staff of the seventeenth season of Grey's Anatomy.

Her directorial debut was the short film tender, about two Black women in the aftermath of a one-night stand.{{Cite web|last=Sandoval|first=Lapacazo|date=2020-10-08|title=Writer Felicia Pride steps behind the camera to direct her first short film "Tender" — a look at a woman's sexuality.|url=https://lasentinel.net/writer-felicia-pride-steps-behind-the-camera-to-direct-her-first-short-film-tender-a-look-at-a-womans-sexuality.html|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Los Angeles Sentinel|language=en-US}} The film received the STARZ/Lionsgate Short Film Award at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival.{{Cite web|last=Cummings|first=Sinead|title='Miss Juneteenth' crowned BlackStar Film Festival winner|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/miss-juneteenth-blackstar-film-festival-best-feature-narrative-award/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=www.phillyvoice.com|date=27 August 2020 }} That year she also co-wrote and executive produced her first feature drama film Really Love, which received a Special Jury Recognition for Acting award at SXSW 2020.

In April 2021 it was announced that Pride's romantic drama script Like It's the Last is in development by Will Packer and James Lopez, and she is also an executive producer on the project.

Works

=Books=

The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs (2007)
Hallway Diaries (2007)
Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates First Girlfriends (2007)
Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates School Politics (2008)
Patterson Heights (2009)
To Create: Black Writers, Filmmakers, Storytellers, Artists and Media Makers Riff on Art, Careers, Life, and the Beautiful Mess in Between (2012)
The Message: Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs (reissued; 2012)
The Educator's Guide to The Message: A Digital Companion (2012)

= Short fiction =

It’s All Love: Black Writers on Soul Mates Family and Friends edited by Marita Golden (2009)

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes
2014 \|The End Again \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| Short film
2020 \|tender \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Short film
2020 \|Really Love \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Co-written with Kristi Angel Williams

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

! Notes

2014

|The End Again

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Short film

2020

|tender

|{{yes}}

|Short film

2020

|Really Love

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|Co-written with Kristi Angel Williams

= Television =

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes
2020–2022 \|Grey's Anatomy \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \|
2019; 2021 \|Queen Sugar \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

! Notes

2020–2022

|Grey's Anatomy

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

2019; 2021

|Queen Sugar

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

Accolades

2010 – Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, American Library Association (for Patterson Heights)[http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/quickpicks/qp2010 2010 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers]
2013 – Media Fellow at the Center for Media & Social Impact, American University[http://game.gmu.edu/stempluswomen/speakerbios/ Speaker Bios Stem+Woman]
2013 – Writers in School Resident, PEN/Faulkner Foundation[https://wins.penfaulkner.org/author/felicia-pride Felicia Pride- Pen/Faulkner Foundation]
2016 – Screenwriting Fellow, Film Independent[https://deadline.com/2016/09/film-independent-screenwriting-lab-fellowship-winner-1201813900/ Film Independent Unveils Screenwriting Lab Slate, Names Fellowship Recipient]
2017 – Writers on the Verge, NBC{{Cite web|last=Robb|first=David|date=2017-10-06|title=NBC Names Eight To Its 'Writers on the Verge' Diversity Program|url=https://deadline.com/2017/10/nbc-writers-on-the-verge-diversity-program-2017-1202183632/|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}