'"Not to know is bad; not to ask is worse," states the African proverb that introduces Render Me My  Song, by the end of this seminal work, no reader will need to ask.'
~ Elle Magazine

'Mixing biography, history and literary criticism in a hightly original commentary, Russell writes with verve and passion.  Her narrative is at once a rich tribute to black women writers and a valuable resource' 
~ New Directions for Women

Ms. Russell has also won numerous literary awards and was the Guest of Honor at the International Conference on "Orality" for 2005, at the University of Angers, France ( 'An Interview with Sandi Russell in Angers, 26 November, 2005', in Journal of the Short Story in English - 47, Autumn 2006; Presse de l'Université  d'Angers, France, pp 193-202.)  Among previous honorees: Grahame Green, Muriel Spark, Antonia Byatt and Grace Paley.

Ms. Russell has performed her acclaimed one-woman show, Render Me My Song - African-American Women Writers from Slavery to the Present,  throughout the UK and Europe. Venues that included  Ronnie Scotts,London; Kings College, London; Arthur Miller Centre at the University of East Anglia; Martin Luther King Memorial Conference, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; The South Bank, London; Batley Theatre, Huddersfield; 60th Anniversary of American Studies Conference, University of Manchester; Leeds International Jazz Festival, Leeds College of Music; and the University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy.

Brian Priestly, one of the UK's foremost jazz critics, says: Render Me My Song is a stunning one-woman show with a difference. With the  simplest means, Sandi Russell tells a complex and moving story, which 
raises consciousness without being overly didactic. The twin themes of racial subjugation and gender prejudice are given subtle and varying emphasis, during a recital that alternates literary excerpts and
classic vocal repertoire.  Drawing on authors such as Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston and performers Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Oscar Brown and Nina Simone, Russell lays it on the line, whether reading or singing.  On a bare stage, with the most sparse props and minimal musical accompaniment, she takes her audience on a journey of discovery and self-discovery.