Joel Leon

New York Times

About

Joél Leon, author of the 2025 Gotham Book Prize-nominated “Everything and Nothing At Once: A Black Man's Reimagined Soundtrack For the Future” is a Bronx-born girl dad, poet, performer and cultural critic who writes and tells stories for Black people. His TED talk on co-parenting has over 1.6M views, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, ABC NEWS, and others. He is a Creative Collective NYC Creative Class alumni, winner of the BCA Bronx Recognizes Its Own Award in Poetry, member of the Top 50 Waymaker Class of 2025 and author "Things I Will Tell My Daughter", and "God Wears Durags, Too" (Bottlecap Press). He is currently a Creative Director at the New York Times' T Brand Studios. Joél is currently repped by Folio Literary and is a Creative Director at the New York Times' T Brand Studios.

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