Charles R. Smith Jr.

Charles R. Smith Jr. is an award-winning American author, poet, and photographer who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He earned a B.A. in photography from Brooks Institute of Photography and later built a career creating children’s books that combine poetry, photography, sports, and Black history.

His books include Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali, which received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and My People, his sepia-photograph interpretation of Langston Hughes’s poem, which won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. He has also written and photographed titles such as I Am the World, Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix, Bessie the Motorcycle Queen, and Major Taylor: World Cycling Champion.