T.L. Merrill was born, raised, and lives in Camden, NJ, the city that beats at the heart of The Song Sparrow. For over six decades, Merrill has walked its streets, listened to its people, challenged its power structures, and stood

with its voices of resistance. His life’s work has been woven into the fabric of Camden itself, serving as a pastor, youth worker, and community activist with an unwavering commitment to restoring dignity, sustainability, and agency to those too often left unheard.

 

A Fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, Merrill brings both scholarship and street wisdom to his work. He remains deeply engaged with the legacy and promise of the Black church, loving its soul, its story, and most of all, its music. The Song Sparrow is more than fiction, it is a lyrical testimony to the beauty and struggle of a people, a city, and an enduring faith. It is the offering of a man who has lived the questions and carried the songs, and who now, with open hands, shares them with the world.