Tommy Orange was born and raised in Oakland, California. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He currently lives in Angels Camp, California.Tommy is a recent graduate from the MFA programme at the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is a 2014 MacDowell Fellow, and a 2016 Writing by Writers Fellow. There There is his first novel.
How do you rewrite the story of a people? This question shapes Tommy Orange's sorrowful, beautiful debut novel . . . There There itself is a kind of dance. Even in its tragic details, it is lyrical and playful, shaking and shimmering with energy. The novel dips into the tiniest personal details and sweeps across history. Orange creates beauty out of tragedy. -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan * Guardian * [A] bold and engrossing debut... [Orange] has got under his characters' skins, allowing them to speak for themselves... This is a powerful novel of pain and possibility -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times * A magnificent achievement... Orange has created a remarkable work, and I have little doubt that he will be ranked in the pantheon of 21st century American novelists -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday * It is optimism that lingers after finishing the book. Fragile and flawed though this hope might be, it remains moving and powerful, just like the rest of Orange's impressive achievement -- Alexander Larman * Observer * Compelling and affecting... It's a searing, haunting read - all the way to its violent, intense climax -- Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *