Rita Williams-Garcia

Williams-Garcia in 2014

Rita Williams-Garcia is an American author. She was born on April 13, 1957 in Queens, New York. She has written many award-winning novels. They include Blue Tights, Fast Talk on a Slow Track, Like Sisters on the Homefront, Diamond Land, Jumped, No Laughter Here, Catching the Wild Waiyuuzee, One Crazy Summer, and Every Time a Rainbow Dies. Her works have won five selections and citations (ALA, Notable Books for Children and Adults citation, Booklist Editors’ Choice selection, Coretta Scott King Honor Book selection).

Early life

Williams-Garcia's family traveled before they settled in Seaside, California. Her father was in the army. People often made racist remarks to her when she was a child. She has spoken about it in her books and in interviews. Williams-Garcia attended Hofstra University. She paused her writing career to major in economics and pursue her dreams in performing arts. After college, she wrote her first book, Blue Tights. It was repeatedly sent back to her, so Rita stopped writing and took time to have children. Finally, Blue Tights was published and won awards. Williams-Garcia wrote more books.

Awards and accomplishments

Book	Date Published	Awards
One Crazy Summer	2011	2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner 2011 Newbery Honor Book 2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction 2010 National Book Award Finalist Junior Library Guild Selection Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010
No Laughter Here	2004	2004-BOOKLIST’s Top 10 Black History Titles for Youth
Jumped	2009	Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice National Book Award Finalist
Every Time a Rainbow Dies	2001	2003 Silver Kiss (Bologna Children's Book Fair) 2003-4 Kentucky Blue Grass List 2003-4 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Master List 2002-3 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List 2002 ALA Best Books 2002 ALA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults 2002 Children’s Literature Choice List 2002 New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
Blue Tights	1987	1991 PEN/Norma Klein Citation (w/FastTalk on a Slow Track) 1989 Youth Advisory Board “A List for Imagination and Survival” 1989 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 1988 Recommended list for the National Conference of Christians and Jews 1988 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (YALSA) 1988 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices
Catching the Wild Waiyuuzee	2000	2001 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books for the Year
Fast Talk on a Slow Track	1991	1991 PEN/Norma Klein Citation 1991 Best Book for Young Adults (American Library Association) 1991 Parents’ Choice Honors for Storytelling 1992 Recommended list for the National Conference of Christians and Jews 1992 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (YALSA)
Like Sisters on the Homefront	1995	LA Best Book of the Decade 1997 PEN\Norma Klein Honor 1997 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List 1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book 1995 Best Books – School Library Journal 1995 Best Books – Publishers Weekly 1995 Best Books – American Library Association 1995 Books Recommended for Reluctant Readers – ALA 1995 Horn Books Fanfare Award 1996 CBC Notable in the Field of Social Studies- NCSS