Courtney Thorsson teaches, studies, and writes about African American literature at the University of Oregon, where she is a Professor of English and a Faculty Fellow in the Clark Honors College. She is the author of Women’s Work: Nationalism and Contemporary African American Women's Novels and essays in Callaloo, African American Review, MELUS, Gastronomica, Contemporary Literature, Legacy, and Public Books.

Courtney’s most recent book, The Sisterhood: How A Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture, tells the story of a community of Black women writers and intellectuals who transformed political, literary, and academic cultures. Read reviews of The Sisterhood in The Nation, Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and the Times Literary Supplement.

The Sisterhood is among Town and Country’s "Must-Read Books of Fall 2023," the Los Angeles Times’s "18 Best Nonfiction Books" of 2023, The Grio’s "Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide," Seminary Co-Op’s 2023 Notable Books, and African American Intellectual History Society's "Best Black History Books of 2023." It is also a 2024 Black History Month selection of the Black Women’s Studies Association, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Powell's Bookstore. The Sisterhood is among the 10 books on the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize 2024 longlist for nonfiction.