Natashia Deón
Born (1978-12-06) December 6, 1978
Los Angeles, CA, U.S.
EducationCal State Long Beach (BA)
Trinity Law School (JD)
University of California, Riverside (MFA)
Period2016–present
GenresLiterary fiction
Notable worksGrace: A Novel
Notable awardsPEN America Fellow (2010), Best Debut Fiction Award, American Library Association, Black Caucus (2017)
Spouse
Lee Saunders
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2
Website
NatashiaDeon.com

Natashia Deón is an American novelist, attorney, and activist. She was an NAACP Image Awards Nominee[1] for her debut novel, Grace,[2][3] which also won the 2017 American Library Association's Black Caucus Award for Best Debut Fiction[4] and was named one of The New York Times Critics’ Top Books of 2016[5] by critic Jennifer Senior. Her second novel, The Perishing, is slated to be released November 2, 2021.[6]

Education and career

Law career

Deón graduated from high school at 16, finished her undergraduate degree from Cal State Long Beach at 19, and moved on to graduate from Trinity Law School with her law doctorate while still in her early 20s.[7] She started practicing corporate law which took her to San Francisco, London, and Los Angeles. In 2010, she shifted her legal career to become a criminal defense attorney.[8] In 2018, she founded the REDEEMED Project, which paired writers and lawyers with those convicted of crimes in order to help clear their criminal records and help them reenter society.[9]

Writing and teaching career

Aside from her debut novel’s critical acclaim, Grace has also been translated into Mandarin. Deón completed her MFA from UC Riverside, Palm Desert,[10] was a PEN America Fellow.[11] She teaches writing at UCLA[12] and Antioch University[13] and is a speaker with Blue Flower Arts,[14] a literary speaking agency. She also founded the LA-based Dirty Laundry Lit reading series that was "equal parts party and reading."[15]

Activism

In addition to her REDEEMED Project activism, in 2017, Deón was a U.S. Delegate to Armenia as part of the U.S. Embassy’s reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Armenia.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards: 'Birth of a Nation' Scores 6 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Grace". 3 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Senior, Jennifer (June 19, 2016). "Review: Natashia Deón's 'Grace,' a Tale of Slavery, Its Ghosts and Legacy". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ "The BCALA Literary Award Winning Books". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club.
  5. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko; Garner, Dwight; Senior, Jennifer; Maslin, Janet (December 14, 2016). "Times Critics' Top Books of 2016". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ "The Perishing". 9 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Natashia Deon: Defense Attorney By Day, Novelist By Night". LA Weekly. May 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Author and attorney Natashia Deón left the corporate world to fight for fairness and fresh starts". 30 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Meet Natashia Deon of REDEEMED - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". 16 April 2019.
  10. ↑ MFA, Palm Desert. "Alumni: Natashia Deon".
  11. ↑ "Natashia Deón Archives".
  12. ↑ "Natashia Deón | Writers' Program at UCLA Extension".
  13. 1 2 "Natashia Deón, MFA › Antioch University". August 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Natashia Deón".
  15. ↑ "Natashia Deón may be the hardest-working debut novelist in Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. 7 October 2016.
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