Sapphire, born Ramona Lofton on August 4, 1950, is an American author renowned for her novel Push, which was later adapted into the Oscar-winning film, Precious. A vivid and powerful voice in contemporary literature, Sapphire's works delve into the complexities of life in urban America, often drawing from her own experiences.

Her novel Push received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Book-of-the-Month Club’s Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award, and in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Highlighted by the Village Voice and Time Out New York as one of the top ten books of 1996, Push was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction.

Sapphire's literary contributions extend beyond her novels. Her work has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Black Scholar, Spin, and Bomb. Through her writing, she continues to shed light on issues of abuse, poverty, and the strength of the human spirit to overcome adversity.