About the Author

Lorene Cary is an author, a social activist, and a supporter of the arts. In addition to writing books that tackle important social issues, she founded an organization aimed at providing access to the arts to untapped audiences in easily accessible places. She continues to live in Philadelphia with her husband, Robert Smith, a writer and Episcopal priest, and their two daughters, who are students in the Philadelphia School District.

Ms. Cary was born in 1956, in Philadelphia, to John and Carole (Hamilton) Cary. She attended the formerly all-white, all male St. Paul’s preparatory school in New Hampshire. The experiences and inner conflicts she faced while in attendance there, provided the inspiration and substance for her memoir, Black Ice. Ms. Cary continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania earning both a BA and MA. She received an additional MA in Victorian literature from the University of Sussex in England. After college, Ms. Cary worked as a writer for Time Magazine, an Associate Editor for TV Guide, and a contributing editor for Newsweek. Her writings have appeared in a variety of magazines and newspapers including, Obsidian, Mirabella, Essence, Philadelphia Magazine, The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ms. Cary is an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and has guest lectured at universities and colleges throughout the United States. She founded the Art Sanctuary, an organization that promotes the work of African American writers, musicians and artists sponsoring their performances and appearances at the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia and other local venues. Starting this year, the Art Sanctuary is the primary sponsor of The Philadelphia Black Writer’s Conference.

The Price of a Child was published in 1995. In explaining the content of the book, Ms. Cary states, “This is an Underground Railroad story, a story about states’ vs. federal rights, a play within a play about freedom – set in the middle of a land of freedom and a city of freedom. This is the kernel of the American story.”

Her third novel, Pride, was published in 1998. It tells the story of four African-American women who have been friends since college and our now about to turn forty. It is about relationships and cultural pride.

Ms. Cary is a dynamic speaker and makes herself available to meet with teachers and students to discuss her writing as time permits. She has graciously agreed to visit one school in each of our regions during the One Book, One Philadelphia event. We hope this will be the beginning of a continuing relationship with both Ms. Cary and the Art Sanctuary.