John O. Killens Biography

Author John O. Killens is best known for penning the Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel Then We Heard the Thunder in 1963. The former law-school student began his writing career following a stint in the Army during WW II. Most of his books examined racism in America and called African Americans to fight for their rights. He wrote his first screenplay, Odds Against Tomorrow in 1959 and his second Slaves in 1969. Killens founded and worked as the first chairman for the Harlem Writers Guild. Later he became a vice president of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi