Tonya Richardson is an award-winning writer, powerful storyteller, and dedicated literacy advocate with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Writing from Georgia Southern University. For Tonya, writing is a necessity that feels like breathing.
Her path to becoming a writer began in 4th grade, when, on a last-minute whim, she entered a writing contest. Finding refuge and a sense of belonging in books and the library, she wrote and won the competition. This achievement led her father to buy her a secondhand typewriter. That seemingly small victory, and her father's investment in her love of writing, solidified her life purpose. As a writer, she seeks to make sense of life's complexities, distilling joy and pain onto the page to create meaning. She feels an abiding duty to shape experiences into stories, hoping her words will help someone who hasn’t yet found their voice.
For over two decades, Tonya honed her expertise in structure and clarity, working in a high-level editorial and gatekeeping role with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which instilled a rigorous attention to detail in every word she writes.
Her literary talent was formally recognized when she received the prestigious 2016 First Place George Brannen Writing Award for her short story “Saints’ Row,” inspired by her childhood summer visits to her grandparents' farm in South Georgia. "Saints' Row" weaves together the complexities of love, devotion, and how one can lose or find oneself amid life crises.
Drawing deep inspiration from her personal battle and triumph over aggressive and rare breast cancer, Tonya published her first novel, Life, Perfection & Happily Ever After…Interrupted. She continued to draw on her health crises, later writing a powerful nonfiction essay, “An Open Letter to My Children,” published by Conquer Magazine in 2016.
Tonya later made a midlife career pivot into elementary education as a teacher. Her goal was simple: to help her students grow into confident scholars, find their own unique voices, and love reading.
Her familial roots continued to inspire her as she wrote "A Strong Family History." The story retells the complexities of navigating a small South Georgia town with her grandmother on a blistering cold day in December. Her piece was selected as the First Place winner of the 2025 John Lewis Writing Grant for Nonfiction.
A proud Georgia native, she lives with her husband and children. When Tonya is not writing, she enjoys diving into a good book with a cup of coffee and a brood of furbabies at her side, or sourcing vintage decor from estate sales.
