Soraya Nadia McDonald facts for kids

Soraya Nadia McDonald is an American writer and a culture critic. This means she writes about and analyzes different parts of culture, like movies, TV shows, music, and sports. She used to be a reporter for The Washington Post. Since 2016, she has been the culture critic for The Undefeated, a website that focuses on sports, race, and culture. In 2020, Soraya McDonald was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, which is a very important award for writers.

Soraya McDonald's Early Life and Education

Soraya McDonald grew up in North Carolina. Her father is African American. Her mother is a Sephardic Jew, which means she comes from a group of Jewish people with roots in Spain and Portugal. Her mother was born in Suriname and grew up in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Soraya went to Howard University, where she earned her degree. While she was in college, she worked as an intern at The Washington Post. An intern is someone who works to get experience, often learning from people already in the job. She worked on the high school sports section there.

Starting Her Career

After finishing college, Soraya McDonald went back to The Washington Post as a staff reporter. She worked there until January 2016. Then, she moved to The Undefeated to become their senior culture writer.

What Soraya McDonald Writes About

Soraya McDonald writes about many interesting topics. She covers pop culture, which includes popular movies, music, and trends. She also writes about sports, race, and gender.

She often looks at how art and race connect. For example, she has written about how race is shown in TV shows like The Handmaid's Tale and BlackAF.

Her Work on Theater

Soraya McDonald also often writes about American theater. She explores how plays deal with the topic of race. She has written about plays such as Choir Boy, White Noise, and Slave Play.

In 2021, she appeared on a podcast called Storybound. On the show, she read one of her essays that helped her become a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The essay was called Wandering In Search of Wakanda.

Commenting on Current Events

Soraya McDonald also shares her thoughts on important current events. For example, she has discussed how racial differences affect COVID-19 cases. Her writing has been featured in and mentioned by many news outlets and books, including NPR, Vox, and Elle.

In 2020, she wrote a chapter for a book called Believe Me. This book was put together by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman.

Awards and Recognitions

Soraya McDonald has received several awards and honors for her writing:

• 2020 - She won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. This award is given for excellent writing about plays.
• 2020 - She was a runner-up for the Vernon Jarrett Medal from Morgan State University.
• 2020 - She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.