Evette Dionne is an American culture writer. Her

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

debut ''Lifting As We Climb'' (

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

) was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Dionne was editor-in-chief of ''Bitch'' from 2018 until 2021.

Early life and education

Dionne was raised in New York. She initially matriculated at

University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "Research Colleges and Universities" ...

and later transferred to the HBCU

Bennett College Bennett College is a private university, private historically black colleges and universities, historically black liberal arts college, liberal arts Women's colleges in the Southern United States, college for women in Greensboro, North Carolin ...

, where she received her bachelor's degree in 2012. She later received her master’s degree in media management and women, gender, and sexuality studies from

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

Career

Dionne is a culture writer whose work centers

Black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...

and current events. She has published her writing in ''Teen Vogue'', the ''New York Times'', and ''Harper's Bazaar'' among others. Dionne was previously a senior news editor at The Revelist and ''Clutch Magazine''. She was named editor-in-chief of '' Bitch'' in 2018 and held the position until September 2021. Issue #92 was the final issue of ''Bitch'' she produced during her tenure. Her commentary has been cited in several outlets on topics such as

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

's legacy, and gynecological health. She is a contributing writer to the books ''Burn It Down'' (2019) and ''Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing From Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others On Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism (2018).'' Dionne's tweets have been cited by ''AJC'' and NBCNews.com. In 2021, Dionne was recruited to

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

to develop editorial strategy and manage a team of staffers for a new initiative, Tudum. Seven months later, she and her team were among the 150 laid off.

Books

Dionne published her first book, ''Fat Girls Deserve Fairy Tales Too: Living Hopefully On the Other Side of Skinny'', in 2019 under

Seal Press Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York City, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and his ...

. Her first middle grade book, ''Lifting As We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box'', was published by

Viking Books Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqui ...

and released on April 21, 2020. Dionne was inspired to write the book in 2016 when she noticed women visiting to the graves of various white female suffragettes like

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...

in the lead-up to the presidential election. She wanted to highlight the contributions of Black women in earning the right to vote. It was written for a middle grade audience. The book received positive critical reception. In a starred review for the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'', Susan Catlett called it a "must-purchase." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' referred to the book as "a lively and critical addition as the United States commemorates the centennial of women’s suffrage." Dionne's memoir, ''Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul'' was released by

Ecco Press Ecco is a New York–based publishing imprint of HarperCollins. It was founded in 1971 by Daniel Halpern as an independent publishing company; Publishers Weekly described it as "one of America's best-known literary houses." In 1999 Ecco was acquir ...

in December, 2022.

Works

* ''Fat Girls Deserve Fairy Tales Too'' (2019, Seal Press; ) * ''Lifting As We Climb'' (2020, Viking; )

Awards

For ''Lifting As We Climb:'' *2020 –

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writer ...

, Longlist *2021 –

Orbis Pictus Award The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book p ...

, Honor *2021 – ALA, Coretta Scott King Book Award, Honor *2021 – National Council for the Social Studies, Carter G. Woodson Book Award, Winner (Secondary Level)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dionne, Evette Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers American women editors American editors African-American feminists American feminists Writers from New York (state) Bennett College alumni Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni Carter G. Woodson Book Award winners