Issa Rae’s second book of essays is coming later this year, People magazine reports.
Amazon will publish the actor and producer’s I Should Be Smarter Now in the summer. The book will contain six essays about Rae’s experiences in Hollywood.
Rae rose to fame with her YouTube series, The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl, which premiered in 2011 and ran for two years. She went on to co-create and star in Insecure, the critically acclaimed comedy-drama series that ran for five years on HBO; the series earned 14 Emmy nominations. She has also starred in films including The Hate U Give, The Lovebirds, and Barbie.
In 2015, Rae published The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, an essay collection that the Kirkus critic called “an authentic and fresh extension of the author’s successful Web series.”
Rae told People that her new book “is part confession, part reflection and part ‘here’s what I wish I’d known, but mostly it’s just me being honest about the weird, wonderful journey from having big dreams to making them a reality.”
Amazon’s publisher, Julia Sommerfeld, said, “From dreaming of briefcases as a child to running her own media empire, Issa’s creative evolution is both hilarious and inspiring. These essays capture her remarkable journey with the wit, wisdom and real talk that has made millions of people feel seen.”
I Should Be Smarter Now is slated for publication on August 26.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
