Crystal Swain-Bates

Crystal Swain-Bates is a celebrated children’s book author and the owner of Goldest Karat Publishing. Fed up with the lack of black children’s books on the market, Crystal founded Goldest Karat Publishing in order to address the lack of diversity in children’s literature.

Crystal’s children’s books have been seen on platforms including CNN and Huffington Post and used as props for hit television shows such as BET’s “Being Mary Jane” and “The Game”.

Named by the Huffington post as one of "21 Children's Books Every Black Kid Should Read" and cited by numerous media outlets, including Essence magazine, as a top book emphasizing natural hair and brown girl beauty, her book "Big Hair, Don't Care is one of Amazon’s most highly reviewed black children’s books on the market.

A native of Atlanta, GA, Crystal holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University and is an avid world traveler.