KEY POINTS

  • Eric Jerome Dickey has died of cancer
  • He underwent a marrow transplant in 2019
  • The famous author wrote around 29 novels  

Best-selling Black author Eric Jerome Dickey’s net worth before he died of cancer was $3 million.

Dickey’s education was actually rooted in science. He graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering and worked as an aerospace engineer. However, his calling would be in a different industry. Dickey began to explore acting and doing stand-up comedies, per Celebrity Net Worth.

As a writer, he expanded his skills from writing comedy materials to skits, to plays, to poems and short stories. He cemented his status as a star in the industry after writing the screenplay for “Cappuccino” that went on to premiere in several film festivals.

Iceland, whose literary heritage dates back to the 13th century Sagas, was guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011
Iceland, whose literary heritage dates back to the 13th century Sagas, was guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011 AFP / DANIEL ROLAND

He published his debut novel in 1996. Dickey would become a regular in the New York Times’ best-selling list and would later release his graphic novel entitled “Storm.” Some of his more famous outputs include "Friends and Lovers," "Sister, Sister" and "Finding Gideon.” His death leaves a gaping hole in the literary industry and the culture. As a Black man who successfully made a name for himself and inspired a generation, tributes have poured in from fellow authors such as Roxane Gay and Luvvie Ajayi for the prolific writer.

What makes Dickey a fan-favorite was his ability to make every reader hang on to what will happen next in his stories. The 59-year-old, according to his peers, was alway wearing a smile on his face and ready to attend book fairs to interact with fans. In total, the Memphis, Tennessee native produced 29 novels and sold 7 million copies worldwide, a report from NBC News revealed.

Dickey’s method of writing was to travel to far away lands to work on his next project. This method is nothing new in the life of prolific writers as some were known to do it in a more extreme way, but Dickey always had his way with words. “Locations were a character in his books. And his characters were living, breathing people. As a reader, he made you feel like you mattered,” author Lisa Renee Johnson said of the late novelist.

Dickey is survived by his four daughters. He had been battling cancer in recent years and even underwent a marrow transplant in 2019. Even after losing a lot of weight and struggling in his fight against cancer, Dickey still wanted to be there for his fans. Followers of his work are still in luck as Dickey’s last novel is set to be released in April 2021.