Deborah

Taffa

Award Nominated Author

Memoirist & Editor

Travels from: Santa Fe, NM

“What makes Taffa’s version exceptions is her visceral prose and sharp attunement to the tragedies of assimilation. This is a must-read.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Deborah Taffa’s debut, Whiskey Tender, a 2024 National Book Award Finalist, was also a 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction longlisted title. Named one of 2024’s Top 10 books by The Atlantic, Audible, and Time Magazine, her debut was also included on best and notable lists at The New Yorker, Elle, Esquire, NPR, The Washington Post, and Publisher’s Weekly. With awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN America, MacDowell, the Ellen Meloy Foundation, and the NY Summer Writers Institute, Deborah received her MFA in Iowa City. Her work can be found at many outlets, including PBS, Salon, The HuffPost, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, The LA Review of Books, and A Public Space. A citizen of the Kwatsaan Nation and Laguna Pueblo, she is the director of the MFA CW program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. Prior to her job directing the MFA CW program at IAIA, Deborah served as an Executive Board Member with the Missouri Humanities Council where she was instrumental in creating a Native American Heritage Program in the state of Missouri. Finally, Deborah is editor emeritus of the literary magazine, River Styx.

Deborah's Featured Titles

Your Vulnerability is your Superpower

There are many ethical considerations when writing a memoir. What should a writer divulge? Are there boundaries that should not be crossed? When does the portrayal of trauma hurt the community? Is the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about an individual’s racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural group something the author should be worried about? This talk will present strategies for crafting a responsible persona on the page, while also dealing with difficult topics.

Broadening History to Better Appreciate Native Contributions

Throughout history, the lives of modern Native people have been shaped by governmental policies. To share our personal struggles, and reveal my ancestors’ contributions to society, I had to recount little-known histories in my memoir—the nuclear colonization of New Mexico, the Major Crimes Act, Public Law 959, Indian boarding schools, the Indian New Deal, Native veteran histories, termination policies, and other—or the story would have been incomplete. By examining the experiences of U.S. Natives, participants will began to see the many sacrifices and contributions Native people have made to better the country we live in. This presentation will help reorient listeners, awaken them to hidden histories, and present the ways in which Native people have both struggled and contributed to American society.

The Need for Diversity in Publishing

I’m the first published author from one of my two tribes: the Kwatsaan/Yuma Nation. Our people finally have a story, and it was an honor and a grand responsibility to write it. But there are other Indigenous Nations still waiting for their story to be told! It’s important for Americans to know how diverse we are as Indigenous people. It’s important for us to gain sovereignty in our stories, from romance novels to historic accounts and middle-class narratives. We still have a great deal to write. There are many regions still to cover, and lots of new things to say. What are the unique obstacles Native people face when it comes to the goal of gaining sovereignty via their stories?

Why TCUs, HBCs, and Community Colleges Matter

How do tribal colleges differ from other academic institutions? What Indigenous approaches to education prove valuable at the Institute of American Indian Arts? This presentation will tackle strategies for first generation college students, as well as for teachers aiming to inspire them. An empathetic approach to understanding why some students dis-identify with the goal of academia will be discussed by an author who didn’t receive her undergraduate degree until she was thirty eight and a mother of five. A late bloomer, with her first book published at fifty four, this topic is highly personal for the speaker.

The Role of Travel: Broadening our Empathetic Lens

In this talk, the author recounts the entertaining story of meeting her husband. A binational couple, they met 34 years ago in Bali, Indonesia, when she was a young Native girl running from her homeland in a fit of political anger. Drafted in the Italian army, he was also angry with his homeland, tired of the materialistic culture in his hometown of Milan, Italy. This talk deals with the inevitable, humorous misunderstandings that occur when a person is building a binational, biracial marriage to raise kids who are as comfortable at the Uffizzi as they are at a powwow.

Are you Hispanic or Chicano? Seeking the Indigenous Past in Hispanic People

The history of genizaros, the new tendency for Hispanic people to vote Republican, the rise of Americans who wish to find their Indigenous roots only to be called pretendians. This talk examines the cultural divides we have created at our southern border with an aim to unify. Viva la raza! This essay will give you some idea (as will the book) for many of these essay topics. https://searchlightnm.org/author/deborah-jackson-taffa/

The Stuggles of an Indigenous Mother

This talk will deal in raising children. (I have five, three of whom went to Yale for undergrad, and two who went to Wash U in St Louis.) Some poignant stories about the tension between what schools teach versus what I aimed to teach at home are at play here. Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung are introduced in this talk. It ends with a lesson learned on a canoe trip down a beautiful river.

“Deborah Taffa was amazing! We appreciated how personalized she made the lecture and her willingness to be vulnerable throughout her talk. Ms. Taffa mingled with attendees at various points throughout the day, which was perfect. Ms. Taffa was warm, flexible, accommodating, approachable, and very prepared for her various talks/engagements.” — Johns Hopkins University School of Education, 2025

“Taffa’s is a story of immense and reverent heart, told with precise and pure skill.” — Elle Magazine

“A coming-of-age story that tackles nothing less than the birth of a nation.” — Oprah Daily

“An instant classic!” — Esquire

“A distinctly American memoir for a country afraid of its own history.” — Washington Post

“Powerful testament from the amazing and inspiring Deborah Taffa at this past weekend’s Heartland Book Fest. If I have absorbed anything from my 10+ year career in the humanities, it’s the dire importance of storytelling. If you haven’t read Deborah’s memoir, “Whiskey Tender”, I urge you to check it out.” — Heartland Book Festival Organizer, 2024

“I attended the ‘Voices from the Urban Indigenous Campfire’ last night and wanted to share how much your performance impacted me. I am also someone who grew up with humble origins, a working class family in a rural area of Appalachia known as ‘chemical valley’ due to the abuse and desolation of corporations. Your talk resonated deeply with me. I saw so much power, and realized that our stories are where are power really lies.” — Virginia Tech, 2024

“I had the immense pleasure of attending “The Aunties: Women of the White Shell Water Place” last night at the Lensic Theater and was so moved by everything you shared in the best spirit and humor!” — Show Attendee, 2024

“I loved watching you read your poetry during the symphony. Your session on Saturday knocked me out. You were such a powerful, calming presence.” — Fort Lewis College, 2024

“What an amazing job you did tonight. You set the stage for the whole festival. I can’t thank you enough!” — Santa Fe International Literary Festival, 2023

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Honors, Awards & Recognition

Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Longlist for 2025
Finalist for the 2024 National Book Award
2024 National Endowment of the Arts Fellow in Prose
Atlantic’s Best Books of the Year 2024
2022 Pen American Jean Stein Grant Awardee for Literary Oral History
Awarded the Tiny House/Rona Jaffe Foundation Fellowship
Fellowship Recipient, The New York State Summer Writers Institute
MacDowell Residency Fellow
Tin House Scholar
Poets and Writers: 5 over 50
Amazon Editor Pick: Best Book of 2024, so far
An Oprah Daily “Best New Book” and “Riveting Nonfiction and Memoir You Need to Read”
A New York Times “New Book to Read”
A The New Yorker “Best Book out now”
An Esquire “Best Book (so far)”
A Zibby Mag “Most Anticipated Book”
An Elle “Best Book”
A Washington Post “Book to Read this Summer”
Publishers Weekly “Top 10 Memoir and Biography”
A San Francisco Chronicle “New Book to Cozy Up With”
A Publishers Weekly “Memoirs & Biographies: Top 10”
The Millions “Most Anticipated”
An Electric Lit “Books By Women of Color to Read”