Dr. Sandra G. Shannon received her Ph.D. Degree from the University of Maryland at College Park. She is currently Full Professor of African American Literature, specializing in Dramatic Literature and Criticism. She is one of the nation's leading scholars on the life and works of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson. As extensions of her areas of scholarly expertise, she has served two-year terms as Editor of Theatre Topics journal and as President of the Black Theatre Network. She is also Founder of the interdisciplinary-focused August Wilson Society at Howard University.

Dr. Shannon's prolific publication record includes two book length studies: The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson and August Wilson’s Fences: A Reference Guide; one co-edited collection: August Wilson and Black Aesthetics and a significant number of additional publications in notable refereed journals, such as College Literature, African American Review, MELUS, Obsidian II, and Callaloo and in collections, such as The Influences of Tennessee Williams, Contemporary African American Playwrights, Critical Reflections on the Fiction of Ernest Gaines, African American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader, May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson, and August Wilson: A Casebook. She also was Editor of special issues of Theatre Topics that focused upon Teaching African American Theatre and the Zora Neale Hurston Forum—both on playwright August Wilson. She is currently editing the forthcoming collection, Approaches to Teaching the Plays of August Wilson, to be published in fall 2010 by the Modern Language Association. A frequently sought speaker, she has delivered numerous keynote addresses as well as participated in various public forums on current trends in scholarship on African American theatre.