Vanessa Miller is a USA Today bestselling author whose writings have centered on themes of redemption featuring strong Black women in pivotal moments of history.

Vanessa’s book, The American Queen, won the prestigious Christy Award, the Audie Award and was the 2024 American Fiction Award winner for Historical Fiction. Her latest gem is The Filling Station, a gripping work about three courageous women who realize it will take their hearts, their minds, their friendship, and their education to make a mark on the world in the fight for equality.

More about The Filling Station: Oberlin College, 1884. Mary Church Terrell, Anna J. Cooper, and Ida Gibbs are used to standing out in a crowd. They’re well known for their vocal stances on civil rights and women’s suffrage. In fact, the Black women learned to debate at Oberlin College as they challenged the very belief systems that built the school, initially by becoming the first women to register for the men’s four-year bachelor’s degree, and later by demanding that they be recognized as American citizens with equal rights despite the color of their skin.

But before they met one another, their worlds were completely unalike. Wealth and prominence allowed Mary endless privileges, while poverty pressured Anna into servitude. It isn’t until the women meet and forge a lifelong bond that they realize the power of their differences.

At Oberlin, the friends face classism, sexism, and racism, but they are determined to blossom and let the world see them for who they are . . . beyond all the labels.

The Filling Station has received starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist. It is a Positively Charlotte book club pick and a USA Today Bestseller.

To learn more about Vanessa please visit www.vanessamiller.com.