Walela Nehanda

Walela Nehanda
Occupations
  • Writer
  • poet
  • cultural worker
Writing career
Genres
  • Memoir
  • poetry
Notable workBless the Blood

Walela Nehanda is an American writer, poet, and cultural worker from Los Angeles. Their debut book, Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir, was published by Kokila in 2024. The book won the 2025 International Literacy Association Young Adult Nonfiction Book Award. Nehanda was included in Out magazine's 2020 Out100 and was selected as a 2024 Disability Futures Fellow.

Life and work

Nehanda was born and is based in Los Angeles.[1] Their early work included spoken word poetry and performance in Los Angeles.[2]

Nehanda has written about illness, disability, cancer care, and medical racism for publications including Self and Time.[3][4] In 2022, Nehanda was a fellow with Zoeglossia.[5] In 2024, the Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation named Nehanda to the final cohort of Disability Futures Fellows, a program administered by United States Artists.[6]

Cancer and disability advocacy

Nehanda was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia at age 23.[7] They later received a stem cell transplant during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][7] Nehanda has discussed how cancer care, disability, race, gender, and body size shaped their experiences in the United States health care system.[8][9]

During the early COVID-19 pandemic, Out credited Nehanda with helping obtain supplies for 200 immunocompromised people and encouraging more than 6,000 people to register with the Be the Match bone marrow donor registry.[10]

Bless the Blood

Nehanda's debut book, Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir, was published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2024.[1][9] The book combines poetry and prose to recount Nehanda's leukemia diagnosis, treatment, and experiences with medical racism.[9][11]

Publishers Weekly called the book "a forcefully crafted collection of poetic and narrative storytelling".[9] Kirkus Reviews described it as a memoir about a young Black nonbinary activist confronting cancer and medical racism.[11] School Library Journal recommended the book for teen memoir collections.[12]

In 2025, the International Literacy Association named Bless the Blood the winner of its Young Adult Nonfiction Book Award.[13]

Bibliography

  • Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir. Kokila, 2024. ISBN 9780593529492.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Bless the Blood by Walela Nehanda". Penguin Random House. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  2. ↑ Pressigny, Clementine (2017). "The powerful young poet harnessing words for a revolution". i-D. Vice. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Walela Nehanda Latest Articles". Self. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Walela Nehanda". Time. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  5. ↑ "2022 Fellows". Zoeglossia. 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Ford and Mellon Foundations Announce 2024 Disability Futures Fellows". Ford Foundation. July 17, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "If You Refuse to Social Distance for Your Own Health, Please Do It for Mine". Self. May 19, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  8. ↑ Crumpton, Taylor (2019). "What It's Like To Be A Fat Black Queer Femme—With Cancer". Nylon. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Bless the Blood by Walela Nehanda". Publishers Weekly. November 16, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  10. ↑ "See the Full 2020 Out100 List Here". Out. November 19, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Bless the Blood". Kirkus Reviews. November 17, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  12. ↑ Dettmann, Molly (March 1, 2024). "Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir". School Library Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Announcing the ILA 2025 Book Award Winners". International Literacy Association. July 11, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
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