Patrik Henry Bass

Patrik Henry Bass is an award-winning writer and editor, with an extensive background in publishing covering books, history, and popular culture. Bass currently serves as editorial projects director at Essence Magazine. Bass has written and edited for a number of publications including The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, The Washington Post, Time Out New York, Brooklyn Bridge, Entertainment Weekly, Black Enterprise and BET Weekend, where he was a founding editor.

Bass and photographer and artist Karen Pugh coauthored In Our Own Image: Treasured African-American Traditions, Journeys and Icons (Running Press, 2001). He is also the author of Like A Mighty Stream, The March on Washington, August 28, 1963 (Running Press, 2002). The Zero Degree Zombie Zone, his first children’s book, was released in 2014.

Bass is also the editor of several books for ESSENCE and Time Inc. Books including Your Faith Walk (2015) Maya Angelou: Her Phenomenal Life & Poetic Journey (2014) A Salute to Michelle Obama (2013); LEDISI Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love & Power (2013); The Obamas in The White House (2010); and The Obamas: Portrait of America’s New First Family (2009).

Bass, a former contributor to The Takeaway with John Hockenberry, has appeared on numerous programs such as MSNBC, CNN, BBC News, National Public Radio, Good Day New York, Arise TV, The Tavis Smiley Show, and New York’s CBS and NBC flagship local stations. Bass is a former board member of The New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ) and a member of The National Association of Black Journalists and the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME).

Raised in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Bass currently resides in Brooklyn.