ReShonda Tate is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

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

Career

Tate has authored over 50 books, and has contributed to several anthologies. Currently, she writes historical fiction. She previously wrote both adult and teen fiction under the name ReShonda Tate Billingsley, as well as nonfiction. 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. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Fiction. Several of her books were 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 and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

and produced by TD Jakes and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

, originally aired on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. Her novel ''The Secret She Kept'' was made into a film that aired on TVOne. Tate is also a screenwriter, with credits including "Christmas with my Ex," which aired on TV One. In 2014, Tate co-founded a publishing company, Brown Girls Books, with author

Victoria Christopher Murray Victoria Christopher Murray is an American editor and author of over 30 books, with "more than one million books in print." Personal life and education Murray was born in Queens, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Disord ...

. She has also appeared in the stage play ''Marriage Material'' by Je'Caryous Johnson. Tate previously worked for NBC affiliate

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 defunct ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

affiliate KRIV in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

as a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

reporter/anchor.

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 an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

"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'' 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 was raised in her mother’s hometown of Smackover, as well as in other towns in the state. She later moved to Houston, Texas, where she graduated from Madison High School. 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 research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. 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