The world of book publishing has not been historically kind to Black and Brown authors. That’s why literary champions of diversity, like Yona Deshommes, 56, stand out.
After a lengthy career in education and publishing, Deshommes founded her own publishing company, Riverchild Media LLC. Her mission is simply to amplify the voices of authors of color, showcase their works, and explore innovative promotional avenues that grow their business.
A daughter of Haitian immigrants, Deshommes was born in Brooklyn and raised in Rockland County. Her father is a retired math teacher and her mother was a nurse. Her earliest memory was sitting at the kitchen table with her father as he read the newspaper. Big on education, her parents encouraged an early appreciation for reading.
Initially, she pursued being a doctor to please her family, attending Hofstra University as a biology major. “That didn’t happen. That was really my dad’s dream, not mine,” said Deshommes. “And I kind of fell into teaching by accident.”
Deshommes took a job as an academic coordinator at a residential treatment center in Chestnut Ridge called Edwin Gould Academy in the 1990s. She worked primarily with at-risk youth from the foster care and juvenile justice system, many of whom were reluctant readers. She got her undergraduate degree in special education from City College and went on to be a teaching assistant. She used books such as “The Coldest Winter Ever” by Sister Souljah, “Precious” and “Push” by Sapphire, and “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers to get them to read and was able to use those books to teach them to think critically.
“I was one of those rabble rousers, I guess you’d call them, at the school,” said Deshommes. “I was a fierce advocate for the kids. At the end of the day, they were Black and Brown children and they’d treat them like experiments.”
Deshommes suspects that friction led to her being let go from her school. For the first time, she considered a career in publishing and editing. She landed a pivotal internship in 2003, and started working as an assistant at then-Warner Books (now Hachette Book Group USA). She moved onto Harper Collins in publicity and publishing, working with higher profile authors. Eventually, she found a home at Atria Books for the next 13 years. She spent the better part of her career working with authors of color like Zane, Tananarive Due, Sister Souljah, Alice Walker, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Hart, Marc Lamont Hill, Common, Michael Strahan, George Clinton, Charlie Wilson, and T.D. Jakes. In 2019, Deshommes was abruptly told that her position was being eliminated — an extension of a “shift” away from publishing diverse authors of color, she said. In a years-long battle with cancer at the time, she took the hit pretty hard. “My coworkers were like my family,” she said, “but I always believe that God always puts us exactly where we need to be and when we need to be there.”
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in Black and Brown authors boomed. Because of her experience and connections in publishing, Deshommes was uniquely positioned to flourish as a freelance publicist and agent. She created Riverchild Media the same year, and never looked back. Her newest venture will be a subsidiary of her company, River & Reeds Press.
For more information on books, authors, or offerings, check out her website at www.riverchildmediallc.com/