Tawni O'Dell (born 1964) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. Her first published novel, '' Back Roads'', was selected by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

for

Oprah's Book Club Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show '' The Oprah Winfrey Show'', highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new book, usually a novel, for view ...

in March 2000.

Formative years

Born and raised in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in the United States, O'Dell grew up in the same town where movie actor

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

was born. The first in her family to attend college, she graduated from Indiana High School and then from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

with a degree in journalism. She lived for many years in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area before moving back to Pennsylvania, where she now lives with her two children.

Career

O'Dell disliked journalism and preferred writing fiction. Her literary career, however, began with uncertainty. During a thirteen-year period, she wrote six unpublished novels and collected more than three hundred rejection slips before publishing her first novel, ''Back Roads''. It was widely praised. The July 24, 2000 issue of ''People'' magazine featured her in a story and mentioned that Oprah Winfrey described her not only as "an author but a writer."Maloney, Ainsley.
Author's life reflects her novel
" University Park, Pennsylvania: ''Daily Collegian'', November 18, 2004.

Works

* '' Back Roads'', novel (New York: Viking, 2000) * '' Coal Run'', novel (New York: Viking, 2004) * ''

Sister Mine ''Sister Mine'' is a 2007 novel by the American writer Tawni O'Dell. Plot introduction In the coal-mining country of Western Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, a ...

'', novel (New York: Shaye Areheart Books, 2007) * ''Fragile Beasts'', novel (New York: Shaye Areheart Books, 2010) * '' One of Us'', novel (New York: Gallery Books, 2014) * ''Angels Burning'', novel (Gallery Books (5 Jan. 2016))

References

Source

* Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000142270.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odell, Tawni 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Living people 1964 births Writers from Pittsburgh People from Indiana, Pennsylvania 21st-century American women writers Medill School of Journalism alumni Novelists from Pennsylvania