Austin Channing Brown: Read Your Book Out Loud From Beginning to End
In this interview, author Austin Channing Brown discusses how themes and stories unfolded over seven years, leading her to hew new memoir, Full of Myself.
Austin Channing Brown is an author and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her work has been featured by outlets such as On Being, Chicago Tribune, and WNYC. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.
In this interview, Austin discusses how themes and stories unfolded over seven years, leading her to hew new memoir, Full of Myself, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Austin Channing Brown
Literary agent: Margaret Riley King (WME)
Book title: Full of Myself: Black Womanhood and the Journey to Self-Possession
Publisher: Convergent Books
Release date: August 26, 2025
Genre/category: Memoir
Previous titles: I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Elevator pitch: In a time of rising authoritarianism and attacks on personal freedoms, the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here chronicles her efforts to live as her full self in a society that wants women—and Black women in particular—to do anything but that.
What prompted you to write this book?
My journey to Full of Myself wasn't a lightning strike. It was a slow unfolding ... I didn't know it at the time, but its themes and stories have been unfolding over the last seven years. I knew it was time to start putting pen to paper after I got sick over one Christmas/New Years vacation. I think being forced to slow down during such a reflective time of year gave me the space to dream about what projects I wanted to be doing in the upcoming year and the idea for this book started to emerge.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The process from idea to publishing was two years and some change. The core idea of the book remains the same from conception, but coming up with the structure for the book took me months! I knew it wasn’t going to be chronological. So, I needed another way of organizing the book that wouldn’t confuse readers. I was scared it would never come. Then one day I was walking outside and it knocked me over. I whipped out my phone and had the structure finished by the time I got home.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
The most surprising is how enjoyable the craft of writing continues to be for me. I really delight in the process of taking a real-life story and trying to write it in a way that makes people feel like they were there. It’s fun for me to find the words, the senses, the details that will transport people into the story. It never gets old.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Full of Myself is the most personal piece of writing I have ever published. In it, I explore what it looks like to live joyfully in a hostile world, to become full of ourselves—our needs, wants, desires, curiosities and passions, in a world that would rather we be empty vessels. I hope readers will enjoy my stories, but find themselves exploring their own, grabbing their agency with both hands in rebellious joy.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Read your book out loud from beginning to end. You’ll hear it, read it, and edit it in a different way.
