Lisa

Wingate

Novelist

#1 NYT Bestseller

Travels from: Dallas, TX

“She was an inspiring presenter, engaging her audience immediately. The hour slipped away very quickly.” — Books In Bloom

Lisa Wingate is the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours, which remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years and has sold over three million copies. She has written more than 30 novels and co-authored the nonfiction Before and After with journalist Judy Christie. Wingate’s books have been translated into over forty languages and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. Shelterwood (2024) marks her thirty-third release.

Wingate is a Goodreads Choice Award winner, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and a Southern Book Prize winner. Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Wingate as a recipient of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Booklist summed up her work by saying, “Lisa Wingate is, quite simply, a master storyteller.”

She was inspired to become a writer by a first-grade teacher who said she expected to see Lisa’s name in a magazine one day. Wingate also entertained childhood dreams of being an Olympic gymnast and winning the National Finals Rodeo but was stalled by a mental block against backflips on the balance beam and by parents who stubbornly refused to finance a rodeo career. She was lucky enough to marry into a big family of tall tale enthusiasts who never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Wingate lives in Texas and Colorado with her family and her cuddly teddy bear of a dog, Huckleberry. One of her favorite things about being a writer is connecting with people, both real and imaginary.

Lisa's Featured Titles

Shelterwood

Ballantine Books |

June 4, 2024

Literary Fiction

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a sweeping novel inspired by the untold history of women pioneers who fought to protect children caught in the storm of land barons hungry for power and oil wealth.

Oklahoma, 1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the remote Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them . . . or worse.

Oklahoma, 1990. Law enforcement ranger Valerie Boren-Odell arrives at newly minted Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children unearthed in a cave. Val’s quest for the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself.

In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the rugged and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.

Bestseller, Civil Discourse & Social Justice, Class & Economic Inequality, Grief & Loss, Historical Fiction

The Book of Lost Friends

Ballantine Books |

April 7, 2020

Novel

Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.

Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.

Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

American South / Appalachia, Community Reads, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Fiction, Historical Fiction

Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society

Ballantine Books |

October 22, 2019

Narrative Nonfiction

The compelling, poignant true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal—some of whom learned the truth from Lisa Wingate’s bestselling novel Before We Were Yours and were reunited with birth family members as a result of its wide reach

From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents—hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.

The publication of Lisa Wingate’s novel Before We Were Yours brought new awareness of Tann’s lucrative career in child trafficking. Adoptees who knew little about their pasts gained insight into the startling facts behind their family histories. Encouraged by their contact with Wingate and award-winning journalist Judy Christie, who documented the stories of fifteen adoptees in this book, many determined Tann survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families.

Before and After includes moving and sometimes shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. Christie and Wingate tell of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace better-late-than-never brothers, sisters, and cousins. In a poignant culmination of art meeting life, many of the long-silent victims of the tragically corrupt system return to Memphis with the authors to reclaim their stories at a Tennessee Children’s Home Society reunion . . . with extraordinary results.

American South / Appalachia, Bullying & Social Anxiety, Community Reads, Grief & Loss, History & Biography, Memoir & Personal Journeys, Mental Health & Overcoming Trauma, Youth Advocacy

Where Are the Children? Secrets of the Tennessee Children's Home Society

Teachers Create the Dreams by Creating the Dreamers

In Defense of Civility - Stories Change the World Outside Us by Changing the World Inside Us

Tending Roses - Mothers, Daughters, Grandmothers

The Fine Art of Wandering

Become a Blockbuster in Thirty Novels or Less

Books Bring Us Together -- How in-common reading experience builds community in a fractured age

https://youtu.be/2R–Yyhl7M0

“Lisa’s name/reputation was the key to our having an overwhelming number of attendees. Her comments were received wonderfully by the audience.” — Juanita I Smith, President of the Friends of the Belton Public Library, 2025

“Lisa Wingate is the ultimate crowd-pleasing author. Our public library has limited funds, so we were thrilled to be able to bring Lisa to our county for our patrons. We had the second highest attendance since we started this annual event in 2008. Lisa Wingate is easy to work with and graciously accepted every request we had of her while she was here. Every one of our guests left our event feeling like they had connected with Lisa; she is that good at what she does. Several of guests recommended that we simply have her back year after year!” — Forsyth County Public Library, 2024

“Lisa is an engaging presenter whose storytelling translates from the page to the podium. She was humble and accommodating, just a delight to work with.” — Oklahoma State University, 2022

“Lisa Wingate was outstanding as a presenter and very flexible and willing to “roll with the punches” when necessary. We appreciate her willingness to meet with us ahead of time to plan and get everyone on the same page for the event. Lisa was very comfortable and responsive with the set of questions presented by participants thought the moderator as well. The material for her books was also very interesting to the participants and staff. Great books, great presentation and great to work with.” — Bristol Library, 2021

“Lisa Wingate is a consummate storyteller. The presentation was very engaging, and included a moving reading from Before We Were Yours, interspersed with entertaining stories of her own life. Participants loved it! Lisa was also very generous with her time and attention while signing books. It was a truly wonderful event and we’d love to have her back!” — York County Library, 2019

“Throughout April and May 2019, hundreds of readers read and discussed the 2019 Fauquier Community Read selection, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate. Selected for its broad appeal and ultimately uplifting story, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS circulated over 700 times from a Fauquier Library, two dozen “pass along” copies exchanged hands at various locations throughout the county and over 250 attended An Evening with Lisa Wingate on May 16, 2019, the Fauquier Community Read 2019 capstone event. Ms. Wingate discussed the surprising success of her work Before We Were Yours and its unanticipated impact. While many books make the New York Times best seller list due to celebrity recognition or movie endorsement, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS was shared via book clubs and word of mouth. Well over half of those in attendance at the event were members of area book clubs. The following day, Ms. Wingate met with high school student writers and discussed the craft of writing. While BEFORE WE WERE YOURS has garnered the most attention, Ms. Wingate has written over 30 novels. She explained that writing and telling stories does not necessarily equate to fame and fortune but that storytelling has value of its own. Ms. Wingate thanked the student writers for valuing storytelling, discussed some of the practical aspects of writing and publishing and answered their questions about the creative process.” — Fauquier Community Reads, 2019

“We were thrilled to host Lisa Wingate at Books in Bloom on May 20, 2018, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Lisa Wingate’s talk focused on her inspiration for writing and the culture and background of the historical period in which her novel, Before We Were Yours, was set. She noted that inspiration for a story could come from anywhere, at any time; hers for her most recent book struck when she saw a television program that featured “dangerous women” and it included Georgia Tann. Georgia Tann ran the Tennessee Children’s Home Society from 1924 through her death in 1950, during which time babies and children were effectively stolen from their poor families and sold via adoption to wealthy people. Lisa gave a summary of what life was like for the poor who lived on and around the Mississippi River from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. She also described the prevailing attitudes regarding adoption, particularly of infants, before and after the time in which her book takes place. The audience asked questions about Lisa’s writing practices, research methods, adoption, and Georgia Tann. The author had a very good rapport with the audience, and was very engaging, relaxed and relatable. She was an inspiring presenter, engaging her audience immediately. The hour slipped away very quickly.” — Books In Bloom

“Lisa’s books, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS, is powerful book that deals with a difficult subject in a delicate and compassionate way. I thought it dealt with the “black eye” on our society in a thoughtful and sensitive way. When Lisa read an excerpt from the book, she gave it the exact inflections that I thought the characters would have when I read the book. Excellent speaker. Very engaging and inspirational.” — University of Arkansas Rich Mountain

“Lisa was by far the easiest author to work with – she drove in herself, didn’t need a moderator, no demands whatsoever. And even though I’m sure she’s done dozens of such events, she talked about the book like it was the first time anyone asked her about it.” — Dallas Book Festival

“We welcomed Lisa Wingate to the Southern Voices Festival in 2018. She was a lovely, engaging speaker who left many audience members in tears when talking about Before We Were Yours.” — Southern Voices Festival

“Lisa Wingate could be the poster child for the perfect author. She’s gracious, kind, generous, super talented and knows how to engage an audience. The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs adore discussing her books. There is a good reason we invite her year after year; she sets the standard for great books to place in the hands of real readers. We are so thankful she continues to educate, enlighten, and tell a great story. Lisa Wingate is giving voice to those who could not tell their own.” — Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club – Hawkins, TX

“Lisa Wingate was wonderful to work with as she moderated a book club luncheon on her New York Times bestseller, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS at our National Conference. As a master story-teller, she wove us through the gripping story, discussed what inspired her to write it, and even read a chapter from the novel. This surprising treat held the attendees captive and you could hear a pin drop in the room where an otherwise lively discussion was taking place. As impressive was her knowledge of the real-life scandal in the book—Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society—and Lisa’s ability to entertain a lengthy question and answer session on the topic. Lisa Wingate is not only a fantastic author, but a kind woman and total crowd pleaser.” — Commonwealth Financial Network

“Lisa Wingate was one of the most successful authors at our annual author luncheon. The Four Seasons of Manalapan Women’s Club had 397 women in attendance, at Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club, and all sat in perfect silence as Lisa addressed the audience. Lisa spoke with confidence and with great knowledge of her material. The women were very impressed with her reading of a section of the book, as she appeared to immerse herself in the character. Her dialect, her voice, her mannerism portrayed the individuals with perfection. Lisa also told us about her own background which helped her to bring this book to life. Her knowledge of information about the time and place of BEFORE WE WERE YOURS, was well researched. We are all looking forward to hearing about a new book to which she alluded. Clearly, Lisa’s charm, intelligence and warmth enveloped all of us. We are all still talking about her and Before We Were Yours.” — The Malapan Women’s Club

“Lisa Wingate’s BEFORE WE WERE YOURS was one of our most popular St. Johns Reads titles ever. The many themes, such as music, elder care, adoption, southern culture, politics, appreciation for the natural environment and more allowed us the freedom to offer programming for everyone. Whether you were old or young, conservative or liberal, it was able to unite the county together in a shared experience. The icing on the cake was the grand final author visit by Lisa Wingate. Ms. Wingate is a wonderful and warm speaker and she was able to bring together the very large audience and make them feel like they were in a cozy, fireside chat. This was our first experience working with a New York Times best-selling author; Ms. Wingate made it a smooth, trouble-free, and joyful experience.” — St. Johns Reads

“Lisa Wingate discussed her NY Times Bestseller, Before We Were Yours at the annual Cold Spring Harbor High School Literary Luncheon. Or luncheon was SOLD OUT and Lisa was amazing! The audience was fascinated as Lisa read from Before We Were Yours and took us through her journey of writing the book. Lisa shared stories of the interactions she has had with real life survivors of this tragic time in our history. Lisa Wingate is a wonderful writer who is also a very warm and genuine person – we could have listened to her talk all afternoon!” — Cold Spring Harbor