Gloria Naylor was born in Manhattan, New York on January 25, 1950. She received a bachelor's degree in English from Brooklyn College and a master's degree in African American studies from Yale University. She taught at several universities including George Washington University, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Princeton University, and Boston University. Her first novel, The Women of Brewster Place, won the American Book Award and the National Book Award for first novel in 1983. It was adapted into a two-part television movie in 1989. Her other novels include Linden Hills, Mama Day, Bailey's Café, and The Men of Brewster Place. She died of heart failure on September 28, 2016 at the age of 66.
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