Colson Whitehead

Early life

Whitehead was born in New York City on November 6, 1969, and grew up in Manhattan. He is one of four children of successful entrepreneur parents, his father Arch and mother, Mary Anne Whitehead who owned an executive recruiting firm. As a child in Manhattan, Whitehead went by his first name Arch. He later switched to Chipp, before switching to Colson. He attended Trinity School in Manhattan and graduated from Harvard University in 1991. In college, he became friends with poet Kevin Young.

Career

After graduating from college, Whitehead wrote for The Village Voice. While working at the Voice, he began drafting his first novels.

Early in his career, Whitehead lived in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Whitehead has since produced 11 book-length works—nine novels and two nonfiction works, including a meditation on life in Manhattan in the style of E. B. White's famous 1949 essay Here Is New York. Whitehead's books are The Intuitionist (1999); John Henry Days (2001); The Colossus of New York (2003); Apex Hides the Hurt (2006); Sag Harbor (2009); 2011's Zone One, a New York Times bestseller; 2016's The Underground Railroad, which earned a National Book Award for Fiction; The Nickel Boys (2019); Harlem Shuffle (2021); and Crook Manifesto (2023). Esquire magazine named The Intuitionist the best first novel of the year, and GQ called it one of the "novels of the millennium". Novelist John Updike, reviewing The Intuitionist in The New Yorker, called Whitehead "ambitious", "scintillating", and "strikingly original", adding: "The young African-American writer to watch may well be a thirty-one-year-old Harvard graduate with the vivid name of Colson Whitehead."

The Intuitionist was nominated as the Common Novel at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The Common Novel nomination was part of a longtime tradition at the Institute that included such authors as Maya Angelou, Andre Dubus III, William Joseph Kennedy, and Anthony Swofford.

Whitehead's nonfiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, and Harper's.

His nonfiction account of the 2011 World Series of Poker, The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky & Death, was published by Doubleday in 2014.

Whitehead has taught at Princeton University, New York University, the University of Houston, Columbia University, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, and Wesleyan University. He has been a writer-in-residence at Vassar College, the University of Richmond, and the University of Wyoming.

In 2015, he joined The New York Times Magazine to write a column on language.

The Underground Railroad was a selection of Oprah's Book Club 2.0, and was chosen by President Barack Obama as one of five books on his summer vacation reading list. In 2017, the novel was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction at the American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Colson was honored with the 2017 Hurston/Wright Award for fiction presented by the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation. The Underground Railroad won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Judges of the prize called the novel "a smart melding of realism and allegory that combines the violence of slavery and the drama of escape in a myth that speaks to contemporary America".

Whitehead's seventh novel, The Nickel Boys, was published in 2019. It was inspired by the story of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida, where children convicted of minor offenses suffered violent abuse. In conjunction with its publication, Whitehead was featured on the cover Time magazine's July 8, 2019, edition, alongside the strap-line "America's Storyteller". The Nickel Boys won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Judges of the prize called the novel "a spare and devastating exploration of abuse at a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida that is ultimately a powerful tale of human perseverance, dignity and redemption". It was Whitehead's second win, making him the fourth writer to win the prize twice. In 2022, it was announced that Whitehead will executive produce the upcoming film adaptation of the same name.

Whitehead's eighth novel, Harlem Shuffle, was conceived and begun before he wrote The Nickel Boys. It is a work of crime fiction set in Harlem during the 1960s. Whitehead spent years writing it, and finished it in "bite-sized chunks" during the months he spent in quarantine in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Harlem Shuffle was published by Doubleday on September 14, 2021. Crook Manifesto, Whitehead's ninth novel and a follow-up to Harlem Shuffle, was published on July 18, 2023. Cool Machine, Whitehead's tenth novel and the conclusion to his "Harlem Trilogy," will be published on July 21, 2026.

Personal life

Whitehead lives in Manhattan and also owns a home in Sag Harbor on Long Island. His wife, Julie Barer, is a literary agent. They have two children.

Honors

• 2000: Whiting Award
• 2002: MacArthur Fellowship
• 2007: Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars Fellowship
• 2012: Dos Passos Prize
• 2013: Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2018: Harvard Arts Medal
• 2020: Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
• 2023: National Humanities Medal
• 2024: Langston Hughes Medal

Literary awards

Works

Fiction

Non-fiction

Essays

Short stories

References

References

1. (2021). "AfroSurrealism: The African Diaspora's Surrealist Fiction". Routledge.
2. Sehgal, Parul. (July 11, 2019). "In 'The Nickel Boys,' Colson Whitehead Continues to Make a Classic American Genre His Own".
3. (2017). "2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nominees". [[The Pulitzer Prizes]].
4. (2020). "2020 Pulitzer Prizes". The Pulitzer Prizes.
5. Maus, Derek C.. (2021). "Understanding Colson Whitehead". [[University of South Carolina Press]].
6. Simms, Renee. (2017-07-23). "Arch Colson "Colson" Whitehead (1969- )".
7. Jackson, Mitchell S.. (June 27, 2019). "'I Carry It Within Me.' Novelist Colson Whitehead Reminds Us How America's Racist History Lives On".
8. Brockes, Emma. (July 7, 2017). "Colson Whitehead: 'To deal with this subject with the gravity it deserved was scary'". [[The Guardian]].
9. Sandhu, Sukhdev. (July 20, 2019). "Colson Whitehead: 'We have kids in concentration camps. But I have to be hopeful'". The Guardian.
10. Purcell, Andrew. (May 20, 2017). "Colson Whitehead: 'The truth of things, not the facts'". Western Advocate.
11. "Colson Whitehead". Colsonwhitehead.com.
12. Smith, Nancy. (July 17, 2012). "Interview with Colson Whitehead". The Rumpus.
13. Whitehead, Colson. (April 23, 2004). "Don't You Be My Neighbor".
14. "The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead, 2016 National Book Award Winner, Fiction".
15. "Colson Whitehead". Pen.org.
16. Updike, John (May 7, 2001), "Tote That Ephemera", ''[[The New Yorker]]''.
17. "Colson Whitehead".
18. Malloy, Allie, [https://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/12/politics/obama-summer-reading-list/ "Obama summer reading list: 'The Girl on the Train'"], [[CNN]], August 12, 2016.
19. Begley, Sarah, [https://time.com/4450367/president-obama-summer-reading-list-2016/ "Here’s What President Obama Is Reading This Summer"], ''Time'', August 12, 2016.
20. French, Agatha. (January 23, 2017). "American Library Assn.'s 2017 award winners include 'March: Book Three' by Rep. John Lewis".
21. [https://www.jbhe.com/2017/10/colson-whitehead-honored-once-again-for-his-novel-the-underground-railroad/ "Colson Whitehead Honored Once Again for His Novel ''The Underground Railroad''"] {{Webarchive. link. (October 25, 2017 , ''[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]'', October 25, 2017.)
22. "The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)".
23. (2020-05-05). "Author wins Pulitzer Prize for a second time". BBC News.
24. Lee, Benjamin. (May 4, 2020). "Colson Whitehead and This American Life among Pulitzer 2020 winners". The Guardian.
25. Maher, John. (May 4, 2020). "Moser, Whitehead, McDaniel, Grandin, Boyer, Brown Win 2020 Pulitzers".
26. Tucker, Emma. (May 4, 2020). "Colson Whitehead Wins Second Pulitzer Prize for Fiction".
27. Grobar, Matt t. (October 27, 2022). "Aunjanue Ellis & Four Others Set For RaMell Ross' Colson Whitehead Adaptation 'The Nickel Boys' For MGM's Orion; Plan B, Anonymous Producing".
28. Canfield, David. (July 15, 2020). "Colson Whitehead is now the most decorated writer of his generation. He's not slowing down".
29. "Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead".
30. "Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead: 9780385545150 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books".
31. "Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead: 9780385550505 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books".
32. O'Hagan, Sean. (June 21, 2020). "Colson Whitehead: 'We invent all sorts of different reasons to hate people'". [[The Observer]].
33. (February 25, 2013). "Colson Whitehead to be awarded Longwood's Dos Passos Prize for Literature". Longwood University.
34. (April 27, 2018). "Novelist Colson Whitehead Wins 2018 Harvard Arts Medal". The Harvard Crimson.
35. (July 13, 2020). "Library of Congress to honor author Colson Whitehead". AP News.
36. "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Historical Fiction!".
37. Alter, Alexandra. (October 6, 2016). "National Book Awards Finalists Include Colson Whitehead and Viet Thanh Nguyen". [[The New York Times]]}}
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38. "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Historical Fiction!".
39. (2019-10-24). "Colson Whitehead Novel Wins $50,000 Kirkus Prize". [[U.S. News & World Report]].
40. Malone Kircher, Madison. (September 20, 2019). "Here Is the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction Longlist". [[Vulture (website).
41. DeLeo, Isabella. (Jan 13, 2020). "The National Book Critics Circle Announces Finalists for 2020 Awards". [[Paste (magazine).
42. (June 11, 2020). "2020 Alex Awards".
43. (2020). "Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence: Longlist 2020".
44. Dwyer, Colin. (Nov 14, 2019). "Exclusive: 'Nickel Boys,' 'Other Americans' Among Nominees For Aspen Words Prize". [[NPR]].
45. (Jun 6, 2020). "In Conversation with Golden Voice Narrator JD Jackson".
46. (2020-07-10). "Clanchy, Whitehead win 2020 Orwell Prize".
47. (May 4, 2020). "Announcement of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners".
48. (1 Jan 2022). "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2021.". [[American Library Association]].
49. "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Mystery & Thriller!".
50. (14 Sep 2021). "Whitehead's 'Harlem Shuffle' among Kirkus Prize nominees". [[Associated Press]].
51. Pineda, Dorany. (20 Jan 2022). "Here are the finalists for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Awards". [[Los Angeles Times]].
52. Schaub, Michael. (27 Jan 2022). "Finalists for the 2022 Gotham Book Prize Revealed".
53. "Macavity Awards". Mystery Readers Journal.
54. Lewis, Hilary. (18 Jan 2022). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
55. (9 May 2022). "2022 New York City Book Award Winners Announced". [[Publishers Weekly]].