Clinnesha D. Sibley, a native of McComb, Mississippi, is an award-winning writer, published author, community advocate, and edupreneur. She has a B.A. Degree from Tougaloo College where she was Miss Tougaloo 2005-2006. She received her M.F.A. Degree in Theatre/ Playwriting from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. After teaching at the university level for seven years as an Assistant Professor, she moved into secondary education.

A writer of plays, blogs, poetry, prose, essays and creative non-fiction, Clinnesha’s work has been featured in countless literary journals. She received the Holland New Voices Award, the Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, Mississippi Theatre Association Adult Playwriting Award, A.I.M. Award for Creative Writing, a 2021 Vance Fellowship from the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year at Mississippi School of the Arts, 2022 STAR Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition Program, and Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction by the National Society of High School Scholars.

Clinnesha’s writing, often influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, contributes authentic narratives about Mississippians, southerners, and Black women to the contemporary literary canon. Her plays have been recognized by many reputable companies and organizations including Penumbra Theatre, Athena Project, Blackboard Reading Series, New Circle Theatre, The Union For Contemporary Art, and Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. She has contributed to Howlround Theatre Commons (“How to Survive Predominantly White Academic Theatre…”), Black Acting Methods Critical Approaches (“Remembering, Rewriting, and Reimagining: Afrocentric Approaches to Directing New Work for the Stage”), and 2020: The Year that Changed American Anthology (“I Am Speaking”: Why Black and Brown Voices Matter”).

Clinnesha was selected as one of twenty-four change-makers across the United States for the 2017-2018 National Arts Strategies Creative Communities Fellow Program. This program was her springboard into the non-profit sector and social entrepreneurship, which grounded her in the role of Executive-Artistic Director for SMMEIIS. She has successfully worked across various regions. In 2021, she was selected by the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY, for their inaugural Apollo Stories Fellowship Program where she developed lessons to help educators across the nation explore themes of identity, culture, race, and justice. She conducted similar work with Penumbra Theater through their Penumbra PRIDE (Positive Racial Identity Development and Empowerment) program, a new initiative through the Penumbra Theater in St. Paul, MN, that is designed to support children of all races as they learn about concepts and experiences of race, identity, and social justice.

She is currently the Fine Arts Coordinator for the McComb School District and co-owner of The Creative Place, a new coworking and business incubation center located in McComb.

She is married to her high school sweetheart, Keith Sibley, and they have three children: Kaylee, Karlee, and Keith Jr.