HAMPTON, VA. — Hampton University will welcome back one of its own this September, as alumnus, former professor, and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Phill Branch returns to campus September 22–23 in celebration of his debut memoir, The Double Dutch Fuss (Amistad/HarperCollins). The visit is as much a homecoming as it is a book tour stop.
Branch earned his B.A. in Mass Media Arts at Hampton before returning years later as a professor in the English department, where he taught writing and helped lay the early groundwork for what would later become the university’s Film Studies program. Phill’s history with Hampton is at the center of The Double Dutch Fuss, a memoir Kirkus and Publishers Weekly have praised, and which Library Journal awarded a starred review, for its unflinching look at Black masculinity, identity, and coming into one’s own.
During his two days on campus, Branch will visit classrooms across Creative Writing, Film Studies, New Media, and Composition; meet with faculty to discuss Spring 2027 course adoptions of the memoir; sit down with Hampton’s LGBTQ+ student community; and headline a public reading and conversation – “Authors at the Harvey”, at the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library on September 22. On September 23, Branch will broadcast a Poets & Writers “New Nonfiction” virtual conversation live from Hampton’s campus — timed to the September/October 2026 issue of Poets & Writers, where Branch is featured as one of five distinguished, debut authors nationally in “The New Nonfiction 2026.” The Poets & Writers discussion is open to the public.
The visit also marks the start of an ongoing partnership: Branch is launching a student writing collective spanning Hampton, Howard University, and Morehouse College, meeting virtually and culminating in a virtual reading hosted by the Harvey Library in April 2027, alongside a digital journal of student work guest-edited by published authors and academics.
“This isn’t just a stop on the tour – it’s a return,” said Branch. “Hampton gave me the room to find my voice, first as a student and then as a professor. Bringing this book back to campus is everything.”
The memoir has reached Amazon Bestseller status and topped Barnes & Noble’s African American Biography & Memoir pre-order list, and been named an Audible Editors’ Select pick for June 2026.
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About Phill Branch: Phill Branch is a regional Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, live performance storyteller, and educator, and a GrandSLAM Champion of The Moth. He is the founder of Baltimore Story Fest and a 2025 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council’s Creativity Grant. The Double Dutch Fuss is his debut memoir, published by Amistad/HarperCollins.
