Toya Wolfe grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes on Chicago's South Side. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. Her writing has appeared in African Voices, Chicago Journal, Chicago Reader, Hairtrigger 27, and Warpland- a journal of Black Ideas. She is the recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston-Bessie Head Fiction Award, the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation Short Story Competition, and the Betty Shifflet/John Schultz Short Story Award. Last Summer on State Street is her debut novel.
Last Summer on State Street is a beautifully observed portrait of family and female friendship. Toya Wolfe is a marvellous writer. * Audrey Niffenegger, New York Times bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife * Tragic, hopeful, brimming with love, Wolfe's debut is a remarkable achievement. * New York Times * Toya Wolfe is a storyteller of the highest order-a wise and compassionate chronicler of girlhood, of Chicago, and of the things that make us human. Last Summer on State Street is a stunning debut. * Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Believers * Last Summer on State Street is an ode to Black girls who are often forgotten. Toya Wolfe tells a compelling, warm, and funny story about a group of girls growing up in a Chicago public housing development. * Natalie Y. Moore, author of The Billboard * Last Summer on State Street is a love letter to girlhood, the tenuous bonds of friendship, and the places we call home. * Nancy Johnson, author of The Kindest Lie *