Rita Gardner

Rita Gardner grew up on her expatriate family's coconut farm in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Living in a remote coastal village, she was home-schooled and began reading, writing, and painting at a young age. She returned to the U.S. to finish school and later moved to the San Francisco Bay region of California, where she follows her passions: trail hiking, traveling, writing, and photography.

Gardner's debut memoir about her unusual childhood, "THE COCONUT LATITUDES: Secrets, Storms and Survival in the Caribbean" was published September 2014 by She Writes Press of Berkeley, CA. It is available in paperback, Kindle, and as an Audible audio book. In 2015, it won Gold Award from Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Awards, and Gold Award from 2015 Next Generation Indie Awards. In 2016 it was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. It was also listed in "Best of 2014 expat books" by The Displaced Nation, and continues to receive acclaim from reviewers and readers alike. She is also a contributor to several anthologies published in 2016: WANDERING IN ANDALUSIA features stories about southern Spain. THE MAGIC OF MEMOIR is a collection of tips by memoir writers and interviews with well-known authors. "MY GUTSY STORY ANTHOLOGY - 2nd Edition, which includes short stories about taking chances and changing your life. Edited by Sonia Marsh, and published in 2015. In 2023,The Coconut Latitudes was published in Spanish by Books&Smith with title of UNA NINEZ ENTRE PALMERAS..

In addition, Rita Gardner's published essays, articles, and poems have appeared in literary journals, travel magazines, anthology, and newspapers. Her photographs and paintings show in galleries and other venues. She continues to dream in Spanish, dance the merengue, and gather inspiration from the ocean; her favorite color is Caribbean blue.