Kalisha Buckhanon (born 1977)[1] is an African-American author. Born in Kankakee, Illinois,[2] Buckhannon received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago,[1] and a Masters of Fine Arts (M.F.A) in Creative Writing from New School University.[2] Buckhanon's first novel, Upstate, was published in 2006 by St. Martin's Press. It tells the story of a young New York couple, and won an award from the American Library Association.[3] In 2008, her second novel Conception was published, again by St. Martin's Press.[4]