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Tommy Orange

トミー・オレンジ

Tommy Orange

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1982-01-19 （Oakland, California, U.S.）
Nationality
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Oakland, California (born and resides)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Instructor
Active Years
2010-
Nominations
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — Finalist (2019), Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction — Nominee, Audie Award for Multi-voiced Performance — Nominee, Goodreads Choice Awards — Best Fiction & Best Debut — Nominee, Booker Prize longlist (2024, Wandering Stars)

Education

Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)
Sound Art / Audio Engineering / Audio/Sound Art
Degree: BS
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree in audio/sound art
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)
Fine Arts / Creative Writing / MFA
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Master of Fine Arts; later taught at IAIA

Awards

John Leonard Prize
2018
Work: There There
Organization: National Book Critics Circle (John Leonard Prize)
Result: winner
PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
2019
Work: There There
Organization: The Hemingway Society / PEN
Result: winner
American Book Award
2019
Work: There There
Organization: American Book Awards
Result: winner
MacArthur Fellows Program (MacArthur Fellowship)
2025
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: fellowship

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

There There

2018 Novel 304 pages

A multi-voiced novel set in Oakland that follows interconnected Native American characters. It explores loss of culture, intergenerational trauma, and urban Native identity and belonging.

Indigenous identityIntergenerational traumaUrban lifeCommunity and belonging
Translations
  • Translated into multiple languages

Wandering Stars

2024 Novel

A follow-up novel expanding on themes of movement, music, loss, and renewal, further exploring Indigenous experience and storytelling.

MobilityMusic and memoryIndigenous narratives

Bibliography

  • There There — 2018
  • Wandering Stars — 2024
  • Short story "Capgras" — 2023 (anthology contribution)
  • Essays and profiles (e.g., Esquire) — 2019 etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Polyphonic narrationFragmented/mosaic structureContemporary direct prose
Recurring Motifs
Urban landscapesMusicFamily and generational continuityRitual and memory

Legacy

Helped bring visibility to urban Native American voices in contemporary American literature; his debut earned multiple awards and nominations and elevated Indigenous perspectives in mainstream literary discourse.

In Popular Culture

  • There There helped bring urban Indigenous narratives into broader cultural awareness.
  • The publication of Wandering Stars expanded his influence to a broader readership.

Quotes

  • "Native people are pretty invisible."
    Source: Interview / City Arts & Lectures (public talks) (2019)

Trivia

  • Played roller hockey nationally from age 14 to 24.
  • Worked at Gray Wolf Books in San Leandro, where he developed a passion for reading and began writing.
  • Lives in Oakland with his wife Kateri and sons Felix and Solomon.
  • Earned an MFA from IAIA and has taught there.