Rashid Darden is an award-winning novelist based in Washington, DC, who uses the written word as a vehicle for the advancement of justice and social action. His … READ MORE about About Rashid Darden
Lazarus
ADRIAN is handsome, brilliant, and devoted to serving others. Under the cool exterior, however, he is tormented and unfulfilled. Abandoned by his father and emotionally distant from his mother, he feels alone – adrift on campus – until he meets SAVION.
With rhymes dripping from his lips like honey, Savion has just what Adrian needs: stability, maturity, and love. Although their friendship is filled with peaks and valleys, their relationship is threatened by Adrian’s biggest challenge: BETA CHI PHI.
Covenant
Who will be the first to break?
ADRIAN is on a mission to heal himself from his emotional wounds. Though he is fresh off the “burning sands” of Beta Chi Phi, he suddenly finds himself alone. He sets himself to the task of reconciling with his parents while forging his own path as a newly “out” man on campus – no easy feat when some fraternity brothers still harbor animosity toward him.
Epiphany
ISAIAH is head over heels in love with his boyfriend and isn’t afraid to let the world know it. His unwavering love threatens his future as a professional basketball player. Though he is being forced to choose between the love of his life and his career, it appears that he could be making a decision which could irrevocably affect his future.
The Life and Death of Savion Cortez
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SAVION CORTEZ is the debut volume of poetry presented by Rashid Darden on the topics of love and loss. It is a companion to the Potomac University Series.
Birth of a Dark Nation
Justin Kena never knew his own strength. He was an average guy stuck working at a mediocre nonprofit in Washington, DC, unsure exactly where his next professional steps would take him. He was awkward, bored, lonely, and bordering on depression. With nothing to lose, he accepts a proposition from his friendly neighborhood corner boy that forever transforms his life.
Smith & Jones: Young Americans
Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones are teachers at a DC public high school. When one of them gets the opportunity of a lifetime, the other struggles to let go. Told under the cloud of the passing of iconic musical artist David Bowie, Rashid Darden introduces brand new characters that continue in the black gay romantic tradition. First anthologized in 47 – 16 : Short Fiction and Poetry Inspired by David Bowie (Volume I), “Smith & Jones: Young Americans” is now available with the essay “Floating in a Most Peculiar Way.”
Yours in the Bond
Eustace Dailey has a Harvard degree, an artist’s eye, an active social life, and more money than he knows what to do with at his age. He should feel on top of the world, but instead, he constantly second-guesses his choices–especially when it comes to Jeremy.
Jeremy Jacob Carter has confidence, charisma, the perfect girlfriend, and only a year left in law school. He is supposed to have it all, but a chance connection with Eustace threatens to undermine everything he worked so hard for.
Along with their fraternity brothers Miles Johnson, Ian Kenney, and Adrian Collins (from the Potomac University Series), the men stumble through their adult years in search of brotherhood, friendship, love, and purpose.
Latest diary entries
You’ve been to Wakanda. Now welcome to Dardenland.
Well, hello there! My name is Rashid Darden. You might know me from this video from Channel 4: If this is your first time visiting my page, or your first time in a while, welcome! This site has had several incarnations over the years. It is primarily an introduction to my life as a […]
The Lazarus Playlist
As I write my novels, I tend to make a playlist that helps me get in the mood, set the scene, and channel my characters. This playlist is inspired by the flow and scenes of my first novel, Lazarus.
Long-term Projects; and Karma
First, karma:
