James Otis Smith Author & Illustrator

James Otis Smith is the illustrator of Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theatre, and a multi-talented artist whose work spans illustration, comics, motion graphics, and video. This is his first book as both author and illustrator. Smith lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Kadir Nelson is the author or illustrator of more than thirty children’s books including The Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander, which received the 2020 Caldecott Medal, the Coretta Scott King Award, and a Newbery Honor. In his introduction to Black Heroes of the Wild West, Nelson writes, “It’s time that we hear every American’s story: from every background and creed, we’ve all worked together to weave the grand tapestry of America.”