JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Around the country, people are raving about several books written by women from right here in Jacksonville.
The Bold City is becoming recognized as a home to these talented authors who are being praised for their releases.
The books have been reviewed with praise by The Oprah Magazine to the LA Times. The stories are very different, but the writers tell First Coast News they were influenced by their upbringing in Jacksonville.
“Duuuval!" sang Dantiel W. Moniz. She's the only one of the three who still lives in Jacksonville.
“As a kid growing up in Jacksonville, I was always writing little stories here and there," said Dawnie Walton, who now in Brooklyn, NY.
“I have a lot of nostalgia growing up in Jacksonville," said Deesha Philyaw, who lives in Pittsburgh, PA.
Three writers, three voices.
We found the three through a tweet by Philyaw.
She was quoted in the LA Times drawing attention to three authors, including herself, from Jacksonville. Her book “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” is nine stories about Black women and the church and is currently being adapted for an HBO Max series.
When she gets attention, Philyaw tries to share it with others. "I really believe what Toni Morrison said is that when we get any kind of power the whole point is to empower someone else," said Philyaw.
Her stories revolve around women in the church and some women who are church-adjacent, as Philyaw describes. “Because the church was part of my upbringing, so much of your life is somewhat deciding who you’re going to be visa vie the church’s teachings," said Philyaw.
She and Dawnie Walton both went to Stanton College Prep for high school and they connected after their books were released recently.
Walton’s book is called “The Final Revival of Opal and Nev” a story about a music duo influenced by the Bold City’s sounds.
“The legacy of Jacksonville as a hub for southern rock – Lynyrd Skynyrd being from there and the complicated history of that... It’s just this mélange of music all around me growing up," Walton said.
Walton connected with Dantiel W Moniz years ago in graduate school realizing they were both from Duval. Moniz’s book “Milk Blood Heat” is 11 short stories based in Florida and highly influenced by locations on the First Coast.
“All of the characters come to a point in their lives where they have to decide you know how do I go forward with my life?" Moniz explained. "I’ve come to new knowledge about myself, or the world, or the people around me. Do I turn towards that knowledge or away from it? What are the consequences of either choice?”
All three books are on sale now and available at the public libraries in Jacksonville at most locations.