Preslaysa Williams

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Preslaysa Williams
Born (1979-06-11) June 11, 1979 (age 44)
OccupationAuthor
Notable worksA Lowcountry Bride series
Notable awards2015 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Short Novel
Website
preslaysa.com

Preslaysa Williams (née Edwards; born June 11, 1979) is an American actress, journalist, and author from New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is a novelist with HarperCollins, specializing in contemporary romance and women's fiction, with a focus on diverse characters.[1][2] She has been featured in The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, NPR, and Writer's Digest.[3][4][5][6][7]

Williams attended Bishop Ahr High School in Edison, New Jersey (which has since been renamed as St. Thomas Aquinas High School) and graduated from Columbia University.[8]

During her acting career, she was best-known for her role as Cindy Ornette on Nickelodeon's The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo (1996-1998). She was also a panelist on Figure It Out.[9]

Career[edit]

Acting[edit]

Williams began acting in the early 1990s where she performed under the stage name Presley Edwards. In 1990, she appeared in the Off-Broadway play, The Onliest One Who Can't Go Nowhere at the Ensemble Studio Theatre directed by the acclaimed director Woodie King, Jr and written by J.E. Franklin. She was called "appealing in the central role" by the New York Times.[5]

In 1999, she acted as Gertrude in the Horton Foote play The Death of Papa, which was part of a series of plays called The Orphans' Home Cycle.[10]

Novelist[edit]

HarperCollins[edit]

She has been noted as "carving out [her] place on the American bookshelf with own-voices diaspora heroines."[1]

Journalism[edit]

In 2020, Williams co-founded Black Catholic Messenger, a nonprofit media publication covering stories of interest to African-American Catholics.[11] She has also written for Literary Hub.[12]

Awards and recognition[edit]

Williams' writing accolades include the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Short Novel (for her work "Coming Home to Love"), and the Indiana Romance Writers of America's Golden Opportunity Award.[13]

Williams has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, NPR, The Root, Boston.com, The Patriot-News, Writer's Digest, and Columbia Magazine.[14][3][6][9][15][16][7][17]

Bibliography[edit]

  • A Lowcountry Bride: A Novel. New York: HarperCollins, 2021. ISBN 9781665096447
  • A Sweet Lowcountry Proposal: A Novel. New York: HarperCollins, 2022. ISBN 9780063236981
  • A Wedding in the Lowcountry: A Novel. New York: HarperCollins. (expected 2024)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Wallace, Jennifer (2021-11-19), "Army trenches and school benches: the Philippine-American War in the Sugar Sun series", The Routledge Companion to Romantic Love, London: Routledge, pp. 215–225, doi:10.4324/9781003022343-17, ISBN 978-1-003-02234-3, S2CID 244437127, retrieved 2023-11-03
  2. ^ Burnett, Katharine A.; Hagstette, Todd; Miller, Monica Carol, eds. (2022). The Routledge companion to literature of the U.S. South. Routledge literature companions. New York London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-003-00992-4.
  3. ^ a b Rodale, Maya (2021-05-22). "For May, 3 Romances About Staying True To Your Passions, Whatever They May Be". NPR. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  4. ^ Deahl, Rachel. "Book Deals: Week of February 10, 2020". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  5. ^ a b Gussow, Mel (1992-06-02). "Review/Theater; Four One-Acts on the Ways Life Can Go Wrong". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  6. ^ a b A LOWCOUNTRY BRIDE | Kirkus Reviews.
  7. ^ a b "Preslaysa Williams: On Finding Hope in Romance". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  8. ^ "Edwards-Williams", Home News Tribune, November 3, 2002. Accessed January 23, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Edwards is a graduate of Bishop George Ahr High School, Edison, and Columbia University, New York, with a bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature."
  9. ^ a b "32 Movie and TV Stars who Graduated from Columbia". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  10. ^ Ascheim, Skip (1999-06-09). "Strong cast, directing fill out flat 'Papa'". The Boston Globe. p. 89.
  11. ^ "The Vision and Mission of the Black Catholic Messenger: An Interview with Nate Tinner-Williams". Millennial Journal. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  12. ^ "Untold Stories: A South Carolina Lowcountry Reading List". Literary Hub. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  13. ^ "Genesis Contest Winners". ACFW. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  14. ^ "November 2022 Books by Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read [UPDATED]". The Root. 2022-11-06. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  15. ^ Victoria Priola, eCommerce writer (2022-03-30). "10 romance novels that deserve to be on your vacation reading list". pennlive. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  16. ^ "Untold Stories: A South Carolina Lowcountry Reading List". Literary Hub. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  17. ^ Dwyer, Dialynn. "The Boston Public Library released its 'Black Is…' booklist for 2022. Here's what's on it". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
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