Cynthia Bond (born 1961) is an American author. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''Ruby'' spent six consecutive weeks on the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Bestseller list, and was chosen as a selection for

Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Oprah's Book Club 2.0 is a book club founded June 1, 2012, by Oprah Winfrey in a joint project between OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and '' O: The Oprah Magazine''. The club is a re-launch of the original Oprah's Book Club, which ran for 15 year ...

. She was born in

Hempstead, Texas Hempstead is a city in and the county seat of Waller County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. History On December 29, 1856, Dr. Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in ...

, and now lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Bond won a journalism scholarship to

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

she then studied at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Bond was a PEN Rosenthal Fellow for Emerging Writers. Bond is also on staff at the Paradigm Malibu Adolescent Treatment Center.

Professional work

Bond founded The Blackbird Collective in 2011 to, according to their website, "create a nurturing, supportive environment for writers" with an emphasis on "telling truths seldom shared, and using creativity to help others." She taught writing to homeless and at-risk youth for over 15 years at the

Los Angeles LGBT Center The Los Angeles LGBT Center (previously known as the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center) is a provider of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The organization's work spans four categories, including health, soc ...

. Some of the youth she worked with inspired episodes of

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

described in her debut novel, ''Ruby''. Bond was inspired by some of her own family's history in writing ''Ruby'', including the story of her aunt who was killed by men rumored to be part of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. She spent ten years working on the manuscript for ''Ruby''. Bond's mother and her agent initially encouraged her to break the 900-page book into a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

. Bond initially believed it stood better as a single volume, then eventually agreed that a trilogy would be the best evolution for the novel. ''Ruby'' was considered a "strong first novel" by ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

''. ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' called ''Ruby'' a "stark, unflinching portrait of dark deeds and dark psyches." ''Ruby'' is in part a "gritty story," but it also contains "mystical elements," according to ''

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 ...

''. ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' wrote that ''Ruby'' was not an "easy read," but it had an important and "compelling" message.

Ann Friedman Ann Friedman is an American magazine editor, journalist, podcaster, and pie chart artist. She writes about gender, politics, and social issues. She co-hosted the podcast ''Call Your Girlfriend,'' sends out a weekly email newsletter called ''The ...

wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that while the book has evoked comparisons with the work of

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

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

, "It may be most apt to compare Bond to

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

. Ruby is woven with magical realism....but Bond's luminous prose is grounded in a sure reality." ''Ruby'' was shortlisted for the 2016

Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

Personal life

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her daughter. Bond identifies as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

Trivia

Bond played the lead antagonist in the 1990 horror film ''

Def by Temptation ''Def by Temptation'' is a 1990 American horror film that was written, produced, and directed by James Bond III; and stars Cynthia Bond, Kadeem Hardison, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bill Nunn. The film takes place in New York City in 1990. Plot Th ...

''. She is a cousin of the late civil rights activist

Julian Bond Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the e ...

.An Interview with...Cynthia Bond
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Works

* ''Ruby''. New York: Hogarth, 2014.

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Cynthia American women novelists African-American novelists People from Liberty, Texas Writers from Los Angeles American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Bisexual writers 1961 births Living people American LGBT actors 21st-century American novelists American LGBT novelists Novelists from Texas 21st-century American women writers LGBT people from Texas LGBT people from California Bisexual actresses 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people 21st-century LGBT people 20th-century African-American women African-American women writers