Amy DuBois Barnett is not afraid of a challenge. The Brown and Columbia University graduate has led editorial teams at Ebony, Honey and Teen People (where she became the first Black woman to run a major mainstream magazine in the country). She was also the deputy editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. In addition, Barnett was a senior vice president and general manager at BET where she oversaw their digital and social platforms. A bona fide boss, Barnett honed her sharp editorial skills here at ESSENCE as an editor in the lifestyle department in the late 1990s.
The Chicago native penned the 2007 advice book, Get Yours! How To Have Everything You Ever Dreamed of and More (Doubleday/Broadway Books). Now she’s back on the publishing scene. This week, Barnett released her debut novel, If I Ruled the World (Macmillan). The page-turner is fast-paced and offers healthy doses of ambition, drama and love all with a sexy backdrop of the 1990s hip-hop, fashion and magazine industries. It is guaranteed to have your group chat buzzing!
ESSENCE caught up with the busy mom in between her book tour to find out why she wanted to release this novel now, the price of ambition for Black women, what Beyoncé’s skin and peaches surprisingly have in common and why she always envisioned If I Ruled the World as a television series.
ESSENCE: Congratulations on your first novel, If I Ruled the World! Why this book now?
AMY DUBOIS BARNETT: This felt like the right cultural and personal moment. We’re living in a time when conversations about power, ambition, visibility, and voice—especially for Black women—feel urgent again. If I Ruled the World is nostalgic and fun, but it’s also about the cost of wanting more and what it takes to claim your voice in spaces that weren’t built for you. I think readers are hungry for stories that entertain and tell the truth, and novels are still one of the best places to do that.
ESSENCE: How long did it take you to pen this book?
BARNETT: Longer than I ever imagined—and exactly as long as it needed to. I first started writing this story in my early thirties, then put it down for years while I lived more life. I returned to it over a decade later with a very different perspective. The final version is richer, sharper, and more emotionally honest because of that distance.
ESSENCE: You’re working with Lee Daniels to bring the book to Hulu! This is huge. Did you envision If I Ruled the World on screen as you were writing it?
BARNETT: Absolutely. As I was writing If I Ruled the World, I could see the scenes playing out in my head. I was intentional about capturing the texture of late-1990s New York hip-hop culture—the fashion, the music, the parties, the language—because that specificity is so cinematic.
I also knew I wanted this story to live as a television series rather than a film. There’s simply too much story, too many characters, and too many layers for one movie. Honestly, I have so many more stories from that era still living in my head.
ESSENCE: Your protagonist, Nikki Rose, is a go-getter. How are you and Nikki alike—and how does she differ from 29-year-old Amy?
BARNETT: I already know people are going to assume If I Ruled the World is my memoir—so let me say this upfront: Nikki is not me. That said, there are parallels. We’re both Black biracial women who became editors in chief at 30: me at Honey, her at Sugar. And yes, I navigated racism in publishing and rampant misogyny in the music industry while chasing my ambitions.
Where we differ is in temperament and timing. My mother passed away when I was 22, which forced me to grow up fast. I was less reckless than Nikki. While she’s having affairs and stuck in a demoralizing junior role at a fashion magazine, I was getting my MFA in creative writing [at Columbia], working at ESSENCE, and preparing to marry my first husband. Nikki is messier than I ever was—and that’s part of what makes her journey compelling.
ESSENCE: The novel is packed with glitzy fashion, steamy sex, delicious drama, and fierce ambition. Why do Black women deserve this kind of escape?
BARNETT: Black women deserve pleasure. Period. If I Ruled the World is meant to be a fun, sexy, propulsive page-turner. But beneath that, I wanted to explore themes that feel deeply familiar to many Black women: the price of ambition, being “the only” in elite spaces, searching for love in all the wrong places, and learning—sometimes the hard way—how to use your voice. Escape doesn’t have to mean shallow. It can be glamorous and meaningful.
ESSENCE: You worked at ESSENCE during the Susan L. Taylor era. What stands out from that time?
BARNETT: Working at ESSENCE was extraordinary. I was surrounded by Black excellence every single day—journalists and editors doing work that mattered deeply to our community. The reporting was powerful, the conversations were purposeful, and the beauty and fashion were unmatched. It felt like being part of something bigger than yourself.
ESSENCE: You’ve met many influential figures. Who left the deepest impression?
BARNETT: So many. Michelle Obama’s intellect is breathtaking; I could transcribe her words verbatim because every sentence landed perfectly. Angela Bassett, Jill Scott, Nia Long, and Vanessa Williams are even more luminous in person. Beyoncé was incredibly kind, with skin like a ripe peach. Gabrielle Union is hilarious. Samuel L. Jackson’s energy is intense. David Oyelowo and Michael B. Jordan became like family. Then there were a few…colorful personalities who will remain unnamed.
ESSENCE: What would your mother, Marguerite Ross Barnett, Ph.D., who was the first Black woman to lead a major American university, say about this moment?
BARNETT: She would be incredibly proud. We were both firsts in our fields—she in academia, me in media, and I know she’d be moved to see me finally realizing a dream I started chasing in my twenties. I wish she were here to witness it…and honestly, I could really use her advice right now.
RAPID FIRE FUN WITH AMY!
Pizza or Burger: Burger, no question.
Heels or Sneakers: Formerly heels. Now sneakers—with pride.
Favorite vacation destination: Paris
Last book read for pleasure: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Top three songs on repeat: Soul Food (Leela James), Golden (Jill Scott), Blow the Whistle (Too Short)
Instagram or TikTok: Instagram (currently debating deleting TikTok)
Go-to karaoke song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Dream superpower: Invisibility—so I could gather information and use it to protect Black women from people who seek to harm them.