“Davis masterfully weaves a powerful story and elements of suspense with issues of race, social justice, and disability. Equal parts witty and heartbreaking, All The Noise at Once serves as a window into the Black autistic experience and as a beacon of hope for those our justice system has forgotten and failed. Easily one of the best books I’ve read all year.” — Jay Coles, author of Tyler Johnson Was Here and Things We Couldn’t Say

DeAndra Davis is an award-winning neurodivergent, Jamaican-American author who lives somewhere in the mountains. Her debut ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE, a young adult contemporary novel, has been the recipient of many awards, inlcuding: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden award, the Robie Harris Youth Choice award, the Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality award, and the William C. Morris award. ALL THE NOISE AT ONCE follows an autistic main character seeking justice for his brother after a wrongful arrest.

Her debut has also been counted among dozens of state library award lists across the country (including being named an Alabama School Library Association Yellowhammer Book Award Honor title), best of lists (including the YALSA 2026 Best Fiction for Young Adults and the 2026 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year), and has garnered three starred trade reviews. This debut has been followed by the critically-acclaimed, THE LOVERS, THE LIARS, AND ME which follows an anxious perfectionist on a queer and cultural journey to Jamaica to find her estranged mother.

Born in Brooklyn and raised partially in New York before relocating to Florida, DeAndra dedicates herself to exploring the intersections between compounding cultural identities, disabilities, and mental health concerns in her writing. She holds an MFA in Fiction from Florida International University and is a creative writing professor.

DeAndra's Featured Titles

The Lovers, the Liars, and Me

Atheneum Books for Young Readers |
Young Adult

A teen travels to Jamaica looking for answers about her absent mother, only to find more than she bargained for—and to get caught up in a love triangle—in this dazzling young adult coming-of-age novel by award-winning author DeAndra Davis that “will resonate with fans of Ann Liang, Ebony LaDelle, and Lyla Lee” (School Library Journal).

Jaliya Powell has never had a real adventure or a real boyfriend—or spoken up for herself. She’s never even been kissed. Despite being valedictorian of her high school class, Jaliya is used to fading into the background.

But this summer will be different.

This summer, Jaliya is visiting her uncle and his family in Jamaica. Under the guise of one last vacation before college, she plans to find out more about her estranged mother, whose absence has remained an unspoken mystery. But things have changed in the seven years since Jaliya last visited. Her cousin has his own life and is reluctant to let Jaliya in, her childhood crush has only gotten hotter and more unavailable, and her aunt and uncle aren’t everything she remembered, either. Then she meets India, who’s vibrant, gorgeous, and free-spirited. And who makes Jaliya feel something she’s never felt before.

While searching for traces of her mother across the island, Jaliya finds herself entangled in complicated relationships, tricky secrets, and a passionate new love. As she navigates this perfectly complicated summer, Jaliya must choose between who she has always been and who she hopes to become.

All the Noise at Once

Atheneum Books for Young Readers |
Young Adult

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut YA Book Award
Three starred reviews!

A Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested in this “propulsive” (Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of We Deserve Monuments), moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice.

All Aiden has ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. An overstimulation meltdown gets in the way of Aiden making the team during summer tryouts, but when the school year starts and a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled, he finally gets a chance to play the game he loves.

However, not every player is happy about the new addition to the team, wary of how Aiden’s autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.

Brandon interferes on behalf of his brother, but is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When he’s wrongly charged for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away, and the brothers’ relationship is tested. As Brandon’s trial inches closer, Aiden is desperate to figure out what really happened that night. Can he clear his brother’s name in time?

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Craft Talk

A general presentation on craft, the elements of creative writing, and what makes a good story/writer.

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Writing with Disabilities

Personal talk about writing with disability (bipolar, autism, ADHD). Success strategies and what being an author looks like when marginalized in this way.

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All About YA: Let's Talk Teens

Writing stories for teens and about teens and what that really looks like. Why getting older doesn’t mean you don’t still have something to say.

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Publishing 101

Everything about the publishing experience from start to finish including the things people don’t always talk about.

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Connecting Stories to Audience

A talk that connects my own work to the audience and then extends on how to find universal factors in writing to draw in many people. Also, how writing in specificity doesn’t equal alienation for others.

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Character Workshop

A short workshop on character and how to build a character who feels real to readers and who sticks with them long after the last page.

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General Creative Writing Workshop

Short talk in workshop format that gets the creative juices flowing and challenges the audience to engage with writing in short burst and flash formats.

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Can You Map A Plot?

A thorough breakdown of plot, the best ways to study plot, and how to strengthen it in your story.

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My Journey to Being an Author

A personal talk on my experience from unpublished to award-winner.

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School Assembly

This includes a slideshow, Q&A with students, and a short reading from one of my books.

Reading Guides for Teachers

Honors, Awards & Recognition

American Library Association William C Morris Award Winner (2026)
Pedro & Daniel Intersectionality Award Winner (2026)
Children’s Book Committee Robie Harris Youth Choice Award Winner (2026)
ALAN Org Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Winner (2026)
Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award, Honor Title (2026)
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, Top Ten Selection (2026)
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Yellowhammer Young Adult Award, Honor Title (2026)
District of Columbia, Capitol Choices Reading List (2026)
Florida Teens Read List (2026-2027)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Finalist (2026-2027)
Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Finalist (2026-2027)
Booklist Top Ten YA Debut
Bank Street College of Education The Best Children’s Books Of the Year (2026)
New York Public Library Vibrant Voices 2026
Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl List (2026-2027)
Illinois Lincoln Award for Teen Readers Finalist (2026-2027)
Illinois Read for a Lifetime List (2026-2027)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Finalist (2027)
Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award Finalist (2026)
Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Finalist (2027)
Pennsylvania Best of 2025 List
Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Finalist (2026-2027)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Finalist (2027)
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Awards Finalist (2026-2027)
Texas TAYSHAS Reading List Finalist (2026)
Volunteer State Book Award Nominee
Beehive Award Nominee
Wisconsin Battle of the Books 2027 Title
Virginia VA Reads Finalist (2026-2027)
CDE Recommended List 2026
Three Stars Book Award Nominee
Capitol Choices 2026
Chicago Public Library & King County Library Best Teen Books of 2025
American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Title
American Booksellers Association Indies Next Title

Media Kit

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