Natashia Deón

Natashia Deón is a Professor of Creative Writing at UCLA and Antioch University, with a focus on Fiction and African American Literature. She is also a practicing criminal attorney, LA Times Book Prize judge, and a PEN America Fellow.

Her research interests span Creative Writing, Literary Criticism, and intersections of Law and Society. She has authored critically acclaimed novels Grace and The Perishing, and her personal essays have appeared in major publications.

Scientific Awards:

• NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literature
• Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award Nominee in Fiction
• PEN America Fellow
• Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference fellowship
• Prague Creative Writing Program residency
• Dickinson House Belgium residency
• Virginia Center for Creative Arts residency

As an active academic and author, she contributes to literary discourse through fiction, essays, and mentorship in Creative Writing programs.