keli's books home



"A breath of fresh air” is how viewers describe blogger, author and political analyst Keli Goff. Since emerging as one of the most popular political commentators of the 2008 election, Keli has appeared on more than 100 national and international news programs including: “The CBS Early Show,” CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Joy Behar Show,” FOX News Channel’s “Fox and Friends,” and BET’s “The Truth with Jeff Johnson” for which she was a contributor. She currently appears regularly on MSNBC’s “The Dylan Ratigan Show” and also serves as a source for news outlets such as the New York Times and USA Today. She is the author of the new novel The GQ Candidate (Atria, July 2011) which was recently designated a recommended summer selection by The Los Angeles Times.

Her first foray into fiction, The GQ Candidate has already earned advance praise from a variety of sources, including actress turned author Victoria Rowell, who dubbed it “a political page-turner” and “a must read,” and Arianna Huffington who said, "In recent years…Keli Goff brought skill and grace to the rough-and-tumble arena of political commentary. Now, in time for 2012, she has aimed those same talents at fiction, and the result is a witty novel that reminds us that all politics is personal."

Currently a Contributing Editor and weekly columnist for TheLoop21.com, Keli’s political columns are syndicated nationally by Cagle, and her work is also frequently republished on the homepage of the Huffington Post. She has written about topics as diverse as skydiving for Cosmopolitan magazine and the love affair between women and stilettos, for ESSENCE. Her writing has also appeared in TIME magazine and The Daily Beast.

Keli’s first book, the critically acclaimed Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (Basic Books, March 2008), is recognized as one of the first to document the rise of “Generation Obama.” Featuring interviews with young voters and high profile leaders, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, The Washington Post called Party Crashing “engaging” while Arianna Huffington declared that it “Should be on the nightstand of candidates on either side of the political aisle.” Keli’s essay “Living the Dream” is featured in the collection The Speech: Race and Barack Obama’s A More Perfect Union (Bloomsbury, 2009).

Keli’s career in politics and media began with a college internship on the senate campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton. After a brief stint as a Democratic operative, she found her political Independent streak more suited to the blogosphere. She has been surprising readers with her unpredictable take on the political and pop culture news of the day ever since. Keli’s fearlessness in giving voice to issues, people and opinions that often go unheard has earned her and her work coverage in a host of media outlets. Most recently she was profiled in the book “No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How we Think about Power,” by bestselling author Gloria Feldt. She is also featured as one of the “expert bloggers” in the book “The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.”

A member of the National Association of Black Journalists, she holds a B.A. from New York University and a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications from Columbia University. Born and raised in Texas, Keli now resides in Manhattan.

Keli skydiving with her tandem instructor for Cosmo piece.