Martha Southgate Explained

Martha Southgate (born December 12, 1960) is an African-American novelist and essayist best known for her novel Third Girl from the Left. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, O, Premiere, and Essence.^[1]

Early life

Southgate was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Smith College^[2] before obtaining an MFA in creative writing from Goddard.^[3]

Writing career

Southgate's first novel Another Way to Dance, about a 14-year-old black aspiring ballerina, was published in 1997 by Delacorte Press. For that work she won the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent.^[4]

In 2002 she released The Fall of Rome: A Novel, set in a New England private boys boarding school.^[5]

Her third novel, Third Girl from the Left, was published in 2005.

Southgate's most recent novel, The Taste of Salt was published in 2011 by Algonquin Books.

Adaptations

In 2013 plans for an adaptation of Southgate's novel Third Girl from the Left were announced. Actresses Kerry Washington and Viola Davis were attached to star.^[6]

Works

• Another Way to Dance (1997)
• The Fall of Rome: A Novel (2002)
• Third Girl from the Left (2005)
• The Taste of Salt (2011)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Martha Southgate: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle . Amazon . 2015-10-26.
2. Web site: An Author's Voice: Interviews with Smith Alumnae Authors « - Smith College Office of Alumnae Relations Smith College Office of Alumnae Relations . alumnae.smith.edu.
3. Web site: Martha Southgate . Goddard College . 16 September 2014.
4. Web site: John Steptoe Award for New Talent . ALA . 2015-10-26.
5. Book: Southgate, Martha. The Fall of Rome. 2002. Simon and Schuster. 978-0-684-86500-3. en.
6. Web site: Kerry Washington, Viola Davis Set For Adaptation Of Blaxploitation-Set 'Third Girl From The Left' . Indiewire . Obenson, Tambay A. . June 17, 2013 . July 20, 2013.