DéLana R.A. Dameron
Columbia, South Carolina native, DéLana R.A. Dameron spent her early years at the feet of her elders—hailing from McDuffie County, Georgia and Horry County, South Carolina. Under her grandparents’ care, she learned to appreciate what the land gives. She watched and helped her grandparents turn their suburban Columbia backyard into a semi-rural oasis: garden, greenhouse, a room for daytime respite, a corner for bunnies, chickens, ducks, a bathtub fish pond and so on. It is this ingenuity that DéLana brings to Saloma Acre’s rural oasis in Blythewood, SC.
DéLana enjoys storytelling, story listening, and believes in the power of community and convening. Her debut fiction project REDWOOD COURT was a February 2024 Reese’s Book Club Pick, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and a finalist for the Willie Morris Award in Southern Fiction.
DéLana is currently finishing her second novel FAIRFIELD COUNTY, a story about four generations of Black and Southern horsefolk, land stewardship, inheritance, family, friendship, and more—due out in 2026.
As a horsewoman, DéLana believes in strong horsey partnerships, and listening to the horse–what makes so much of this possible.
DéLana competes in Cowboy Mounted Shooting on her horses Shadrack and Jazzie June, as a member of the South Carolina Mounded Shooters club with Elizabeth Clavette at Double E Performance Horses.
Additionally, DéLana competes in cow work with her horse Gravie, trained by Shane and Deb Byerly of Lone Wolf Ranch.
She is a proud owner of foundation-line bred American Quarter horses.