Dawnie Walton

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Dawnie Walton
Dawnie Walton in 2024
Dawnie Walton in 2024
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
GenreFiction, journalism
Notable worksThe Final Revival of Opal & Nev
Notable awardsAspen Words Literary Prize 2022
Website
www.dawniewalton.com

Dawnie Walton (born 1976 or 1977) is an American journalist and novelist. She is known for her novel, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, which won the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize, the 2022 Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award, and was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

Personal life[edit]

Walton was born in 1976 or 1977,[1] and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida where she attended Stanton College Prep.[1] She went to college at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, a historically Black school, and she received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[1]

She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband.[1][2]

Career[edit]

Journalism[edit]

In 1994, Walton began her career in journalism as a recent high school graduate interning for The Florida Times-Union — she wrote for the Teen Rap section of the paper that existed at the time.[1] Her journalism career continued after college at The Oregonian in Portland and The Washington Post in D.C.[1] She then moved to New York City where she worked as a magazine editor for a number of publications, including Essence, Entertainment Weekly, Getty Images, and LIFE.[1][3][2]

Writing[edit]

Walton published her debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, in 2021 to critical acclaim. The book covers the fictionalized oral history of a 1970s interracial rock duo.[1][3]

She was inspired to write the book after seeing the documentary called 20 Feet from Stardom about backup singers.[1] It featured Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt who were singing with Talking Heads, and Walton found herself drawn to these "two amazing Black women."[1] Thus began the inspiration for her first novel.[1]

Walton wrote this novel over seven years, for much of that time working on it before or after her day job, waking up at 5 am or staying up late.[3][4] Walton was working as the deputy managing editor at Essence in 2015 when she decided to leave her job entirely to work on the novel full-time.[4]

While working on this novel, Walton attended writing residencies at MacDowell Colony and the Tin House Summer Workshop,[2] and she received her master's degree in Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2013.[1][5]

The novel went on to win the 2022 Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award, the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize.[6][3][7] The book was named one of the best books of 2021 by The Washington Post, National Public Radio, Esquire and President Obama.[6] The audiobook version of the novel won the 2022 Audie Award for Fiction.[6]

Short story startup[edit]

After publishing her first novel, Walton co-founded a new startup with Longreads founder Mark Armstrong and author Deesha Philyaw.[8] The startup, called Ursa, aims to celebrate and promote short fiction by underrepresented authors through a website, a podcast, and publishing—including publishing audio stories.[8] Walton and Philyaw host the podcast together.[8]

Awards and honors[edit]

In 2021, Barack Obama and Booklist included The Final Revival of Opal & Nev on their list of the year's best books.[9][10]

Awards for Walton's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2021 The Final Revival of Opal & Nev Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize for Fiction Longlisted [11]
Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel Nominated [12]
Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction Nominated [12]
2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize Won [13]
Audie Award for Best Fiction Won [14]
First Novelist Award Won [15]
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominated [16]
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Won [17]
Women's Prize for Fiction Longlisted [18][19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Soergel, Matt. "3 Black women from Jacksonville debut acclaimed books, become friends". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  2. ^ a b c "Dawnie Walton in Praise of Say Anything's Gangly, Vulnerable Male Lead". Literary Hub. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  3. ^ a b c d Travers, Andrew (22 April 2022). "Dawnie Walton's 'Opal and Nev' wins Aspen Words prize". aspentimes.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  4. ^ a b Gross, Terry (May 24, 2021). "'70s Music Journalism Gets An Overdue Rewrite In Debut Novel 'Opal & Nev'". NPR. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Dukes, Will (2022-04-14). "Dawnie Walton on Her Music-Obsessed Novel and Liking Whatever the Hell She Wants". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  6. ^ a b c "Dawnie Walton wins VCU Cabell First Novelist Award". richmondfreepress.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  7. ^ "Dawnie Walton's 'Final Revival of Opal & Nev' wins Mark Twain award". MSN. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  8. ^ a b c "The Book Pages: 'Opal & Nev' author Dawnie Walton talks Ursa, a new short story startup". Orange County Register. 2022-06-10. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  9. ^ "POTUS44's Reading List: Obama's Favorite Books of 2021". Shelf Awareness. 2021-12-16. Archived from the original on 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  10. ^ Seaman, Donna (2021-11-01). "Top 10 First Novels: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  11. ^ "Longlist for the 2021 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Announced". Bklyner. 2021-08-26. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  12. ^ a b "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev". Goodreads. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  13. ^ "Longlist for the 2021 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Announced". Bklyner. 2021-08-26. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  14. ^ "2022 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-10-29. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  15. ^ Brogan, Mary Kate (2022-07-01). "Dawnie Walton wins the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 'The Final Revival of Opal & Nev'". VCU News. Virginia Commonwealth University. Archived from the original on 2023-05-26. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award". African American Literature Book Club. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  17. ^ "Awards: Mark Twain American Voice Winner; Readings Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2022-10-31. Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  18. ^ "Five minutes with: Dawnie Walton". Women's Prize for Fiction. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "Awards: Women's Fiction, Plutarch Longlists". Shelf Awareness. 2022-03-09. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
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