E. Lynn Harris was born in 1955 in Flint, Michigan, but moved to Little Rock at age three. A frequent library visitor, he fell in love with the writings of James Baldwin and Maya Angelou.
He attended the University of Arkansas, where he was the school’s first black cheerleader and yearbook editor, graduating with honors.
Harris kept his sexual identity secret, which led to depression and a suicide attempt. He found writing therapeutic, and in 1991 self-published his first book, Invisible Life, which led to a three-book deal with Doubleday.
He eventually wrote nine novels, many of them bestsellers, that explored friendship, romance, sexuality and race. His 1997 novel If This World Were Mine won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence.
He later taught at the University of Arkansas and was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2000. Harris died on a business trip on July 24th, 2009.
Learn more about E. Lynn Harris at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
