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KB Brookins
KB Brookins, a Black American writer with brown skin, poses with their hands in their pockets. They are wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans, and a Black belt. The background is purple and green.
Brookins at the 2024 Texas Book Festival
Born (1995-08-28) August 28, 1995 (age 30)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
OccupationWriter
EducationTexas Christian University (BA)
University of Texas at Austin (MFA)
GenresPoetry, Creative Nonfiction
Notable worksPretty: A Memoir, Freedom House, How To Identify Yourself With a Wound
Notable awardsNational Endowment of the Arts Fellowship, Stonewall Book Award, Lambda Literary Award
Website
www.earthtokb.com

KB Brookins (born August 28, 1995) is a Black American author. Brookins is a 2023 Creative Writing fellow with the National Endowment for the Arts and the author of three books: How To Identify Yourself with a Wound, Freedom House, and Pretty: A Memoir.[1][2]

Early life and Career

Brookins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.[3] They attended Texas Christian University and graduated in 2017.[4] Their work is often described as hopeful, unique, and candid.[5][6][7]

Freedom House explores themes of race, transgender identity, and gentrification among others.[8][9][10] Vogue called their writing style in the book "urgent and timely while still holding space for the possibility of a life lived on one’s own terms."[11] Freedom House won the 2024 Stonewall Book Award Barbara Gittings Literature Award and an award with the Texas Institute of Letters.[12][13] It was named a best book of 2023 by Autostraddle, The Texas Observer, Ms., and Chicago Review of Books.[14][15][16]

In 2024, Brookins published their debut memoir called Pretty.[17][18] It has gotten favorable reviews in Kirkus Reviews and GLAAD among other venues.[19][20][21] Pretty won the 2025 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Nonfiction.[22]

Personal life

Brookins is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.[23]

Works

Books

  • Pretty. Alfred A. Knopf. 2024. ISBN 9780593537145.[24]
  • Freedom House. Deep Vellum. 2023. ISBN 9781646052639.[25]
  • How To Identify Yourself With a Wound. Kallisto Gaia Press. 2022. ISBN 9781952224133.[26]

Poems

Essays

Zines

Art Exhibits

  • Freedom House: An Exhibition. 2024[43]

In Anthology

Edited

  • Winter Storm Project: Austin, Texas Artists on Winter Storm Uri. Winter Storm Project. 13 February 2022. ISBN 9780578361123.

Awards and fellowships

References

  1. ^ Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins. National Endowment for the Arts.
  2. ^ St. Jude, Jenn (2022). "Validated, Represented, and Connected to a Larger Narrative: An Interview with KB". Chicago Review of Books.
  3. ^ "KB (Brookins)". id.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  4. ^ Wilson, Jeff (2023-05-10). "KB Brookins: How It Started ... How It's Going". TCU Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  5. ^ "KB Brookins' 'Pretty: A Memoir'". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  6. ^ Casey (2023-12-12). "65 of the Best Queer Books of 2023". Autostraddle. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  7. ^ Journal, Fahmidan (2024-08-14). "Book Review: Pretty-By KB Brookins". Fahmidan’s Substack. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  8. ^ Hill, Chaney (2023-04-12). ""Freedom House" Imagines a House for All". Southern Review of Books. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  9. ^ "Review: KB Brookins's FREEDOM HOUSE as Manifesto". Honey Literary. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  10. ^ Smith, Gabriella (2023-04-21). "Overwhelming in the Best Way - Deep South Magazine". Deep South Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-06-22. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  11. ^ "The Best New Poetry Collections to Read (or Preorder) Now". Vogue. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  12. ^ a b "Home". texasinstituteofletters.org. 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  13. ^ Wilson, Jackie (2024-01-29). "UPK's 'Gay Poems for Red States' named 2024 Stonewall Book Award Honor Book". UKNow. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  14. ^ "61 Notable Debuts by Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-conforming Authors". Chicago Review of Books. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  15. ^ Olsen, Lise (2023-12-13). "The Texas Observer's 2023 Must-Read Lone Star Books". The Texas Observer. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  16. ^ Strand, Karla J. (2023-04-20). "Reads for the Rest of Us: The Best Poetry of the Last Year". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  17. ^ "Review: Pretty: A Memoir by KB Brookins". The Florida Review. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  18. ^ "[Review] Pretty by KB Brookins | Erica Talks Books". www.ericatalksbooks.com. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  19. ^ Specter, Emma (2024-05-23). "In Their New Memoir 'Pretty', KB Brookins Blends Poetry and Prose to Paint a Vivid Portrait of Black Southern Transmasculinity". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  20. ^ ortiz, mónica teresa (2024-05-28). "Book review of Pretty by KB Brookins". BookPage | Discover your next great book!. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  21. ^ Associate, Kayla Thompson, Communities of Color (2024-06-07). "KB Brookins' 'Pretty: A Memoir' and Manifesto for the Transformative Power of Black, Queer, and Trans Stories | GLAAD". Retrieved 2025-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ a b Lewis, L. D. (2025-07-30). "Announcing the Finalists for the 37th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  23. ^ "Pretty: A Memoir by Kb Brookins". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  24. ^ "Pretty by KB Brookins: 9780593537145". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  25. ^ "Freedom House". Deep Vellum. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  26. ^ "How to Identify Yourself with a Wound". Kallisto Gaia Press. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  27. ^ a b c d "March 2023". Poetry Magazine. Poetry Foundation. March 2023.
  28. ^ "KB Brookins | Kenyon Review Author". The Kenyon Review. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  29. ^ "miCRo: "What's on your mind, KB?" by KB Brookins - The Cincinnati Review". 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  30. ^ "Love Machine | Poetry Database | Split This Rock". www.splitthisrock.org. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  31. ^ Poets, Academy of American. "Good Grief by KB Brookins - Poems | Academy of American Poets". Poets.org. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  32. ^ "We Are Not Untouchable". 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  33. ^ Juarez, Alex (2022-05-02). "My Gender Won't Fit in the Family Car". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  34. ^ "American Poetry Review - KB Brookins - "& Somehow, Men Are Nicer to Me Now"". American Poetry Review. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  35. ^ "KB Brookins on "T Shot #4"". Poetry Society of America. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  36. ^ "Freedom House: A Sonic Bibliography". Oxford American. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  37. ^ Brookins, K. B. (2022-12-21). "Trans Texans Are Being Surveilled, This Is Everyone's Issue". Autostraddle. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  38. ^ "How Kendrick Lamar Stumbles Toward Queer And Trans Allyship On "Auntie Diaries" - Okayplayer". www.okayplayer.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  39. ^ "This Is What It's Like Going To The Gynecologist When You're Black, Trans And In Texas". HuffPost. 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  40. ^ "Why I Won't Be Coming Out to My Family During the Holidays". Teen Vogue. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  41. ^ "A new relationship to pain : poems". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  42. ^ "zines". KB Brookins. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  43. ^ Anderson, Carys. "The Off Beat: KB Brookins' Poetry Book-Turned-Art Exhibit". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  44. ^ "Nia KB". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  45. ^ "2021 Emerging Voices Fellows and Mentors". PEN America.
  46. ^ "Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize | Academy of American Poets". Academy of American Poets. 2022.
  47. ^ "The Academy of American Poets Announces 2022 Winners of the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize". poets.org. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  48. ^ "Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: KB Brookins".
  49. ^ admin (2009-09-09). "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  50. ^ RAGARCIA (2024-02-05). ""Freedom House" wins 2024 Stonewall Barbara Gittings Literature Award". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  51. ^ "Saints & Sinners Festival Renames Award to Honor Dorothy Allison, Felice Picano". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  52. ^ Anderson, Marc (2025-01-02). "GLCA Announces Winner of 2025 New Writers Award". Great Lakes Colleges Association. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  53. ^ Aton, Francesca (2025-05-01). "The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Names 2025–26 Artists-in-Residence". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  54. ^ "KB Brookins". Ragdale. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  55. ^ "KB Brookins - Black Mountain Institute". 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
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