Yona Deshommes is a publishing strategist and cultural advocate with more than two decades of experience positioning authors and the books that define them. Her corporate publishing career spanned Warner Books, HarperCollins/Amistad, and Ecco, culminating in 13 years at Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) as Associate Director of Publicity, where she led campaigns for Kevin Hart, Common, Taraji P. Henson, Alice Walker, and Janet Mock, among others.
In 2020, she launched Riverchild Media, a boutique PR firm whose client roster includes New York Times bestselling authors Ijeoma Oluo (Be a Revolution) and Clay Cane (The Grift), journalist and author Natasha Alford (American Negra), and award-winning actor, director, and producer Eriq La Salle (Laws of Solomon / Martyr Maker series).
Yona is also the founder of Living Out Loud (rebranding as Riverchild Media Presents The Confluence), a literary event series bringing authors and readers together in community, with past guests including Professor Anita Hill, Cedric the Entertainer, Courtney B. Vance, and Common. In 2024, she joined the Harlem Book Fair in an executive capacity, overseeing operations of one of the most storied BIPOC literary institutions in the country. In Fall 2025, she launched Riverchild Literary Press, whose debut title, Silence and Resistance by Monique Clesca, was longlisted for the BOCAS Literary Award. Forthcoming titles include Venture Philanthropy Blueprint by Alain Leroy and Alpha Whisperers: Power Behind the Power by J.C. Salazar.
Yona holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a BS in Special Education (magna cum laude) from The City College of New York. She is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and the Order of the Eastern Star, and serves on the boards of the Women’s Media Group, Egbe Iwa, a rites-of-passage mentorship program, and Joi’s Angels, a community service organization serving Newark, NJ.