Diane Richards

Diane Richards is a novelist, singer, playwright, and producer; and she serves as the Executive Director of the Harlem Writers Guild. From an early age, she’s had twin loves: singing and writing. She’s followed both of these passions all of her life. Born in Milwaukee, she was sixteen when she won Dr. Bop’s Fox Singing Contest – the biggest Black Urban DJ’s contest in Milwaukee. She worked at radio stations in Milwaukee and Chicago, and then moved to New York. There she sang everywhere – from the street to cabarets to Carnegie Hall. She studied with Howlett Smith, the legendary Broadway music director, and also had the privilege of singing backup for Whitney Houston. In 2015, she was appointed Executive Director of the Harlem Writers Guild , the oldest (founded in 1950), most prestigious African American Writers Guild in the world. It launched and supported Dr. Maya Angelou’s writing career, among many others. Other early and founding members include John Oliver Killens, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Rosa Guy, Terry McMillan, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Grace Edwards. She lives in Harlem with her husband Anthony Mills: a few blocks from the Apollo Theater, which launched Ella’s career, and not too far from Ella Fitzgerald’s Boulevard of Dreams.