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  • DAWNIE WALTON is a writer, editor, and author of the award-winning novel The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, named one of the best books of 2021 by The Washington Post, NPR, Esquire, and former U.S. President Barack Obama, among others. Her work explores identity, place, and the influence of pop culture. Formerly an editor at Essence and Entertainment Weekly, she has received fellowships from MacDowell and Tin House, and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (where she has since taught a fiction seminar). In partnership with acclaimed writer Deesha Philyaw and Longreads founder Mark Armstrong, she is the co-founder of Ursa Story Company, a podcasting and storytelling venture, and co-hosts and produces its shows. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Oxford American, Bon Appetit, NPR, and Lithub. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

  • The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

    By Dawnie Walton

    A poignant fictional oral history of the beloved rock ‘n’ roll duo who shot to fame in the 1970s New York, and the dark, fraught secret that lies at the peak of their stardom.

    Winner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the Audie Award for Fiction

    Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction (for the U.K. publication)

    Finalist for the Prix du Premier Roman Étranger (for the French translation, Le Dernier Revival d'Opal & Nev)

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