American writer (born 1948)
Lalita Tademy (born 1948) is an African-American writer[1] whose work was listed in San Francisco's One City One Book in 2007.[2] She is widely known for her debut novel Cane River, which was selected for The Oprah Winfrey Show and Incoming student novel for Stanford University in 2001 and 2015 respectively.[3][4] Her second novel, Red River was published in 2006 and the third Citizens Creek, was published in 2014.[5]
Tademy's work has appeared on People Magazine, O Magazine, More Magazine, Good Housekeeping, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, Oprah Winfrey Show.[2] She has also been featured as a keynote speaker for National Book Festival,[6] California Governor's Conference for Women, Black Caucus conference, and the Louisiana Library Association.[7]
Biography
Tademy was born in Berkeley, California in 1948 as the last of four children born to Nathan Green Tademy Jr. and Willie Dee Billes.[8] Her family relocated to Castro Valley, California in 1956, where she continued her education at Parsons Elementary School, A.B. Morris Junior High School, and Castro Valley High School.[9]
Tademy bagged a degree in psychology in 1970 and subsequently, her master's degree in business administration in 1972 from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1992, She became the vice president and general manager of Sun Microsystems in Palo Alto.[10]
Career
I decided very early on that I was going to be independent; I didn't want to depend on the kindness of others... My life choices, and everything I did [were] going to ensure that I'd be financially, emotionally and every other kind of independent.
—
Lalita Tademy, On Feminism[9]
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Tademy explained why she wanted to be a genealogist following her debut non fiction novel, Cane River: "As I began to uncover the story after story of my ancestors, I just couldn't keep away from them."[11] According to her, She became interested in her family's history from the stories told by her grandmother Emily.[12] She studied writing at Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley. She wrote two short pieces, one of which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle.[9]
After 13 rejections, Tademy found an agent willing to accept her as a client. After many rewrites, which included page reduction from 800 to 400 pages, her first book, Cane River was finally published in 2001.[13] It is a story that dates back to the 1800s of African American foremothers.[14] The book received international reviews and criticism. In a review for the Washington Post, Jabari Asim noted that the author's extensive research of the subject is evident "in the careful descriptions of the slaves' endless tasks... [she] succeeds at describing the physical environment... especially the natural elements."[9] The Boston Globe commented on "the many black-and-white photographs, yellowed wills, and family letters captured between the pages."[9]
Awards and honors
She was selected for the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Awards for Adults in 2014 for her third work, Citizens Creek.[19] She was listed on The New York Times Best Seller list for Cane River in 2001.[20] It was also listed in the Ophra's Book Selection Club.[21]
Personal life
Lalita lives in northern California with husband, Barry Williams.[22]
