
JoAnn Fastoff, Award Winning Chicago Author To Make Film
Native Chicagoan, JoAnn Fastoff is an award-winning novelist who writes about an FBI Agent dealing with global problems that hit America’s shores. Much like herself the protagonist is a non-stereotypical Black person. She is by profession a writer and he is a crime solver. She has also written a non-fiction book based on inspirational memoirs.
Her work has been honored many times including the 2013 Recipient of Excellence in Literature (fiction) Award for her book The Lie, which was presented to her by the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago. The Lie centers on the illicit diamond industry from a victims perspective in Africa sparking much intrigue and adventure.

The Harlan Graduate is a member of Chicago’s Harlan High School Hall of Fame where her books are housed in the high school’s library.
Community oriented, JoAnn is a Board Member of “Growing Home”, an urban agricultural organization located in one of the most depressed neighborhoods in Chicago. Growing Home inspires healthy living, community empowerment and economic development – especially to people with barriers to employment.
She is also a member of the Great Lakes Initiative as a team leader for the past five years “adopting” beaches and recruiting team members to help clean up City of Chicago beaches, guaranteeing clean water and an attractive environment for beach goers.
JoAnn talks to high school and college students about the devastating effects of negative typecasting of people of color in print and film. She leads the discussion examining solutions to enact change through the numerous avenues of exposure, while discussing ways in which to dispel the myths of negative portrayals.
JoAnn’s continued success as an author has garnered interest from her readers and fan base about the next phase which has lead her to this moment in time.
On Saturday November 14 she will showcase a private screening of the movie trailer The Lie based on her award-winning book The Lie.
The welcome reception will be from 6:00 to 7:00pm
Followed by TED Talk and Movie Screening 7:00-8:00pm – TED Talk and Movie Screening.
A Q&A and Crowdfunding Campaign Kickoff begins At 8:00
The evening will close around 8:45 pm.
List of Books:
The Lie: Author of the year
Two Years of Heaven:
nominated for the 2015 Phyllis Wheatly Book Review Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction
The Pact
The Smoke Ring
The Gordian Knot
She is currently working on her fifth book
JoAnn’s background includes having been a former Interim Managing Editor of the Chicago Defender Newspaper. She is a former Columnist for Examiner.com newspapers focusing on environmental issues affecting Chicago’s south side community (coal plants, Asian carp, beach cleanups, stray animals, hydraulic fracturing, etc.) She has been a television producer for a CBS affiliate, The Galloping Gourmet, Staff Writer for City Colleges of Chicago Office of Communications and producer for WKKC Radio station. She has also produced and directed educational films and has written , produced and directed three one – cat plays on off broadway in New York, on elf which won The Village Gate One Act Festival in 1993.
JoAnn graduated from Harlan High School, attended Wilson Junior College, Columbia College and acquired her B.A. in Marketing from the University of Idaho.