Reshonda Tate (born in 1969) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Tate is also known as "ReShonda Tate Billingsley."

Education

She is a graduate of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

at Austin.

Career

Tate has authored 53 books, and has contributed to several anthologies. Currently, she writes historical fiction. She has previously written nonfiction works, as well as adult and teen fiction under the name ReShonda Tate Billingsley. Three of her novels have been nominated for the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Fiction. Several of her books have been made into movies; ''Let the Church Say Amen'' and ''The Secret She Kept.'' The film adaptation of her sophomore novel ''Let the Church Say Amen,'' directed by

Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her o ...

and produced by TD Jakes and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

, originally aired on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

. In 2014, Tate co-founded a publishing company, Brown Girls Books, with author Victoria Christopher Murray. She has also appeared in the stage play ''Marriage Material'' by Je'Caryous Johnson. Tate previously worked for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

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KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Books

*''My Brother's Keeper'' (2003) *''Four Degrees of Heat'' (anthology) (2004) Excerpt: "Rebound" *''Let the Church Say Amen'' (2004) *''Help! I've Turned Into My Mother'' (2005) *''I Know I've Been Changed'' (2006) *''Have A Little Faith (anthology)'' (2006) ''Excerpt: "Faith Will Overcome"'' *''Nothing But Drama'' (2006) *''Everybody Say Amen '' (2007) *''With Friends Like These'' (2007) *''Blessing in Disguise'' (2007) *''The Pastor's Wife'' (2007) *''Getting Even'' (2008) *''Fair-Weather Friends'' (2008) *''Can I Get a Witness?'' (2008) *''The Devil is a Lie'' (2009) *''Friends 'Til the End'' (2009) *''Caught up in the Drama'' (2010) *''Holy Rollers'' (2010) *''Drama Queens'' (2010) *''Body of Innocence'' (2011) *''A Good Man is Hard to Find'' (2011) *''Lady Jasmine / Sins of the Mother / Let the Church Say Amen / Everybody Say Amen'' (2011) *''Say Amen, Again'' (2011) *''Sinners & Saints'' (2012) *''Something to Say: poetry to motivate the mind, body and soul'' (2012) *''The Secret She Kept'' (July 2012) *''Finding Amos'' (2012) *''Real As It Gets'' (2012) *''You Don't Know Me Like That'' (2013) *''Rumor Central (2013) '' *''Friends & Foes'' (2013) ' *''The Motherhood Diaries'' (2013) ' *''A Family Affair'' (2013) ' *''Fortune & Fame'' (2014) ' *''Truth or Dare'' (2014) ' *''Boy Trouble'' (2014) ' *''The Motherhood Diaries 2'' (2014) ' *''What's Done in the Dark'' (2014) ' *''A Blessing & A Curse'' (2015) ' *''Eye Candy'' (2015) ' *''Pay Day'' (2015) ' *''Mama's Boy'' (2015) ' *''The Perfect Mistress'' (2016) ' *''It Should've Been Me'' (2016) ' *''Seeking Sarah'' (2017) ' *''The Book in Room 316'' (2018) ' *''If Only For One Night'' (2018) ' *''The Stolen Daughter'' (2019) ' *''More to Life'' (2019) ' *''A Little Bit of Karma'' (2020) ' *''Miss Pearly's Girls: A Captivating Tale of Family Healing'' (2022) ' *''The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel'' (2024) '

Awards

*Texas Literary Hall of Fame (2022) *Smithsonian's African American History Makers (2016) *African American Literary Award for Best Christian Fiction for Fortune & Fame (2014) with Victoria Christopher Murray *NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature (2012) *African American Literary Award for Best Teen Fiction for Drama Queens (2011) *Inductee into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame (2010) *''Rolling Out Magazine''′s Top 25 Women of Houston (2009) *Five-time winner of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

"Spirit in the Words" *''Let the Church Say Amen'' named one of ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

s Best Books 2004 in Christian Fiction *#1 ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' best-selling author *2006 Texas Executive Woman on the Move *Black Writers Alliance Gold Pen Award for best new author (2002) *''Mama's Boy'' named one of ''

s Best Books 2015 in African American FictionDiGirolomo, Kate, et al. "Best books 2015." Library Journal 1 Dec. 2015: 30+. Popular Magazines. Web. 13 July 2016.

Personal

Tate was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Bruce Tate and Nancy Kilgore. She moved to Arkansas at a young age and spent most of her childhood in her mother’s hometown of Smackover. She later moved to Houston, Texas, where she graduated from

Madison High School Madison High School may refer to: * Madison County High School (Alabama), Gurley, Alabama * Madison High School (Idaho), Rexburg, Idaho * Madison Consolidated High School, Madison, Indiana * Madison High School (Kansas), Madison, Kansas * Kentucky: ...

. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. She is married to Dr. Miron Billingsley and has three children.

References

External links

Official Website
on Urban Reviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate-Billingsley, Reshonda Living people American women journalists University of Texas at Austin alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women