Black Arts and Culture

Six Writers Debut “A Gathering of Voices”

A powerful new memoir anthology, A Gathering of Voices, brings together six acclaimed writers—including Denise Nicholas and Hattie Winston—to share personal, lyrical stories of resilience, growth, and the richness of Black life.
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Special to the New Journal and Guide

In the Spring of 2018, actress/author Denise Nichols gathered together a group of interested writers in forming a writing workshop named Longwood Writers Workshop.

Nichols, herself an award-winning author, is also the award-award-winning actress who starred starred in three popular television series: “Room 222,” “Baby, I’m Back,” and “In the Heat of the Night,” the last opposite the late Carroll O’Connor. She received three Golden Globe Award nominations for “Room 222;” and was honored with a Best Actress NAACP Image Award for the film, “Let’s Do It Again.”

Nichols brought on board a collective of five authors including Denise Billings, film/television producer; Charles Floyd Johnson (“Magnum P.I.,” “JAG,” “NCIS”); physician Otto E. Stallworth, Jr., MD; GW Williams; and actress Hattie Winston (“The Soul Man,” “Becker,” “Jackie Brown”).

Sharing her knowledge of the writing process, she brought to the group the skill she had exhibited in her first novel, the award- winning FRESHWATER ROAD, a book that was born in the Journeyman’s Writing Workshop run by Writer/Teacher Janet Fitch.

The Longwood Writers Workshop’s members discovered they were interested in both memoir and fiction writing; however, most of the authors settled on memoir as it gave them a starting point using their own life’s experiences. The group began meeting bi-weekly at Nicholas’ home to write together. And then in March 2020, the COVID-19 lockdowns required The Longwood Writers Workshop to gather less frequently via Zoom.

As the pandemic ebbed, the group returned to in-person sessions around Nicholas’ dining room table. The authors came to realize what writers all over the world have always known: writing is rewriting and rewriting once again.

What emerged from the Longwood Writers Workshop is now the newly published anthology entitled A GATHERING OF VOICES in which the six authors, to include Nichols, share a varied collection of personal, vibrant, introspective, and lyrical stories.

These stories resonate with memories of struggles the authors have waged, of battles they’ve won and lost, and of their many experiences that illuminate their mature wisdom and their hard-won resilience.

Featuring a foreword by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad, A GATHERING OF VOICES is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Baby and at LongwoodWritersWorkshop.com.

The first book signing event for A GATHERING OF VOICES took place in Los Angeles on April 19, 2025. Tony, Drama Desk, and NAACP-nominated actor Rocky Carroll (CBS’s NCIS, Broadway’s The Piano Lesson) moderated a discussion with the authors.

The compelling narratives in A GATHERING OF VOICES speak to all ages of readers who are looking for confirmation that the challenges and adversity presented by life’s struggles can be overcome with hard work, a never-ending belief in oneself, and the willingness to persevere through every hardship.

Response has been favorable from a variety of sources. Christopher D’Angelo Benson, Associate Professor, School of Journalism, Northwestern University, offers a summary. “A powerful collection of compelling narratives that are both granular and global, inviting us into an intimate connection with exceptionally well-drawn characters who provide a larger-than-life-take-away – the full rich, multidimensional life of Black America,” he writes.

About the Authors:

Denise Billings

Her recently published first book, Road Trip: A Memoir was a finalist for the 2024 Black Authors Matter TV Award. Currently she’s working on her second book.

Charles Floyd Johnson

Charles Floyd Johnson is both a television and film producer with a career spanning over five decades. Among his many credits is the Award winning “Red Tails,” motion picture about the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed African-American pilots of World War II. He also executive produced the documentary “John Lewis: Get in the Way.”

Otto E. Stallworth, Jr., MD

After 45 years of medical practice, Dr. Stallworth pursued his passion for writing beginning late in 2015. His memoir, Are You a N***r or a Doctor?, was delivered in 2023. His Sunsets (a book of sunset photographs) hit the shelves in December 2023. He plans to publish a murder mystery novel late 2025.

GW Williams

GW Williams is journeying from the stricture of writing for business to the creative world of story. She’s written poetry and prose. Two stories in A Gathering of Voices were inspired by the year she spent working in Tripoli, Libya for a Fortune 500 engineering firm.

Hattie Winston

Hattie Winston, acclaimed actor, singer, producer, Broadway veteran and lover of learning, continues to entertain audiences on film, television and stage in a career that has spanned more than five decades.