About TRACY

Tracy Chiles McGhee is an award-winning, multi-genre writer and the author of the acclaimed novel, Melting the Blues. McGhee received six awards for the novel, among them the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards) Bronze Medal for Regional Fiction (South); the 2017 Honor Book (Fiction) at the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) Self-Publishing Literary Awards; and the 2016 Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award for First Fiction. She also received Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards (Mainstream Literary Fiction) and was a Finalist in the prestigious 2014 William Faulkner-William B. Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in the Novel-in-Progress Category. 

Other awards include: The Reynolds Price Prize in Fiction (Finalist) for two short stories and The Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award (Honorable Mention) in the Salem College International Literary Awards in 2019 and 2014, respectively. 

Tracy enjoys writing about themes in which she is passionate like love, family, friends, art in the broadest sense of the word, and African-American history, contributions, and folklore. She has been published in a variety of publications such as Shadow & Act (articles), The Fire Inside: Collected Stories & Poems From Zora’s Den, Nothing But the Truth So Help Me God: 51 Women Reveal the Power of Positive Female Connection, Word Nation: An  Anthology edited by Marita Golden, BOMB Magazine, Tidal Basin Review, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, Coloring Book: An Eclectic Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by Multicultural Writers, and Slow Trains Literary Journal.

Media appearances and mentions: C-SPAN  Book TV,  PBS-Independent Lens, Oprah Daily Insider, Forbes, Parade,  Washington Post,  Washington  Informer,  Blavity,  and NPR. 

A graduate of Catholic University Law School and Georgetown University, Tracy  lives in Washington, DC.

• Amplifying the Voices of Black Writers: Communications & Development, Hurston/ Wright Foundation
• Women’s Empowerment: Head of Strategic Partnerships, Sasha Ariel Ventures (STEM Diversity), Founder of the Womanifesting  Facebook page with 30K followers &  the Womanifesting Clubhouse club
• Literacy Development: Co-Founder, along with Author Kwame Alexander, of  LEAP for Ghana, a literacy development initiative,  Participating author in the Pen/Faulkner's Writers in Schools Program 
• Writer Support: Founder of The Author Platform  Clubhouse club;  Speaker, Workshop Presenter, & Panelist (DC Public Library, Writing Immersions and Retreats, Community Events, Literary Festivals)
• Mentorship:  Youth Mentor; Developed and launched one-on -one Mentorship Program for the nonprofit ScholarCHIPS , which provides scholarships and support to children of incarcerated parents
• Preservation of African American History: Ambassador for the National Museum of African American History & Culture
• Social Good Advocacy: Former Public Interest Lawyer who worked for organizations that provide free legal services for the indigent and marginalized