ABOUT BELLE
Demetria Lucas D’Oyley
Demetria Lucas D’Oyley is the author of two highly successful books A Belle In Brooklyn: The Go-To-Guide For Living Your Best Single Life (Atria) and her recently released self-published dating manifesto Don’t Waste Your Pretty: The Go-To-Guide For Making Smarter Decisions In Life & Love; the creator of the award-winning personal blog ABelleInBrooklyn.com; and the founder of Coached By Belle, a boutique life-coaching service, where she helps clients solve their dating dilemmas and build healthy relationships.
The former Relationships Editor and dating columnist at Essence magazine, Demetria has been a freelance writer for The New York Times, The Guardian, People, VIBE, XXL, Black Enterprise and ESPN the Magazine. She’s blogged about her dating experiences for Honeymag.com and been a book editor for Harlequin and BET Books, where she edited national bestselling and award-winning romance authors.
Since being dubbed “the Black Carrie Bradshaw” in a Washington Post profile, Demetria has become a much-sought after media personality and speaker. She’s appeared on The Today Show, Bethenny, The Anderson Cooper Show, The Dr. Drew Show, Access Hollywood, Good Day New York, Issues with Jane Velez on Headline News, the Oprah Radio Show, and the Tom Joyner Morning Show.
She’s also been a guest speaker at Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Howard, NYU, and Spelman College; and a hostess at the Essence Music Festival, the Fort Greene Music Festival, Circle of Sisters, For Sisters Only and many more. Demetria was also featured in the 2012 photo exhibition Her Word as Witness: Women Writers of the African Diaspora. Most recently, Demetria was invited to interview award-winning actress and star of ABC’s hit show Scandal, Kerry Washington, at the 2014 BlogHer conference on the main stage.
Over the course of her career, Demetria has received numerous awards and accolades such as being named one of “the Blogosphere’s Best” by Black Enterprise Magazine, selected among “30 Black Bloggers You Should Know” by The Root, picked as one of Essence.com’s “40 Fierce & Fab Under 40”, and featured as “The Best of Brooklyn” by Brooklyn News 12. In 2014, she received the Shirley Chisholm Women of Distinction Award from Brooklyn Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, was an honoree at the annual Love & Politics gala hosted by the Young Women of Color Health Advocacy Coalition (YWCHAC), and earned the “Mocha Maven” award at the annual Salute Her Awards by Cafe Mocha for “dominating the social media landscape as an author, blogger, columnist and life coach.”Additionally her debut book, A Belle in Brooklyn, was nominated for “Best Self Help” at the 2011 African-American Literary Awards, and her blog was awarded Best Personal Blog in the 2010 Black Weblog Awards.
Residing in Brooklyn, NY, the recently married author is currently on a nationwide book tour for Don’t Waste Your Pretty, a twice-weekly columnist for TheRoot.com, running her popular Ask.Fm page, and starring in Bravo TV’s hit show “Blood Sweat & Heels”, that chronicles the lives of young professional women as they juggle dating and relationships, friendships, busy careers and more.
Demetria received her Bachelors in English at the University of Maryland, College Park and then went on to earn a Master’s degree in Journalism from New York University. She also received an accredited life coach certification from IPEC coaching institute.
