Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead

Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of nine novels, including his (/wiki/1999inliterature) debut The Intuitionist; The Underground Railroad (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; and The Nickel Boys, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again in 2020, making him one of only four writers ever to win the prize twice. He has also published two books of nonfiction. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship.

Early life

Colson Whitehead

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

Colson Whitehead

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.

Whitehead at the 2011 Brooklyn Book Festival

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 (/wiki/2017PulitzerPrize) 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 (/wiki/2020PulitzerPrize) 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

Colson Whitehead

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

Colson Whitehead

• 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

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Work</th><th>Award</th><th>Category</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2000</td><td>The Intuitionist</td><td>PEN/Hemingway Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Whiting Awards</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>John Henry Days</td><td>Los Angeles Times Book Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Book Critics Circle Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Salon Book Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>Anisfield-Wolf Book Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Pulitzer Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Young Lions Fiction Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Apex Hides the Hurt</td><td>PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Sag Harbor</td><td>Hurston/Wright Legacy Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PEN/Faulkner Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>International Dublin Literary Award</td><td>—</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Long Island Reads</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>Zone One</td><td>Hurston/Wright Legacy Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>The Underground Railroad</td><td>Booklist Editors' Choice</td><td>Adult Audio</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Goodreads Choice Awards</td><td>Historical Fiction</td><td>Won—1st</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Kirkus Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Book Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Arthur C. Clarke Award</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Audie Award</td><td>Audiobook of the Year</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Literary Fiction & Classics</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Female Narrator</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BCALA Literary Awards</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Honor</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Booker Prize</td><td>—</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards</td><td>Novel</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Clark Fiction Prize</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dayton Literary Peace Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hurston/Wright Legacy Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Indies Choice Book Awards</td><td>Adult Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>John W. Campbell Memorial Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Locus Award</td><td>Science Fiction Novel</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NAACP Image Awards</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PEN/Jean Stein Book Award</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Pulitzer Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TCK Publishing Reader's Choice Award</td><td>Novel</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>International Dublin Literary Award</td><td>—</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>The Nickel Boys</td><td>Foyles Books of the Year</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Goodreads Choice Awards</td><td>Historical Fiction</td><td>Nominated—2nd</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Kirkus Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Book Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Book Critics Circle Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Alex Award</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Aspen Words Literary Prize</td><td>—</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Audie Award</td><td>Male Narrator</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BCALA Literary Awards</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BookTube Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Quarterfinalist</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dayton Literary Peace Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Orwell Prize</td><td>Political Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Pulitzer Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Writers' Prize</td><td>—</td><td>Longlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Lincoln Award</td><td>—</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Harlem Shuffle</td><td>Booklist Editors' Choice</td><td>Adult Audio</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Goodreads Choice Awards</td><td>Mystery & Thriller</td><td>Nominated—6th</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hammett Prize</td><td>—</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Kirkus Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>National Book Critics Circle Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>BookTube Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Octofinalist</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gotham Book Prize</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Macavity Award</td><td>Mystery Novel</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NAACP Image Award</td><td>Fiction</td><td>Shortlisted</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>New York City Book Award</td><td>—</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Works

Fiction

• —— (1999). The Intuitionist (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385492997. • —— (2001). John Henry Days (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385498197. • —— (2006). Apex Hides the Hurt (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385507950. • —— (2009). Sag Harbor (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385527651. • —— (2011). Zone One (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385528078. • —— (2016). The Underground Railroad (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385542364. • —— (2019). The Nickel Boys (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385537070. • —— (2021). Harlem Shuffle (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385545136. • —— (2023). Crook Manifesto (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385545150. • —— (2026). Cool Machine (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385550505.

Non-fiction

• —— (2003). The Colossus of New York (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385507943. • —— (2014). The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death (hardcover 1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 9780385537056.

Essays

• "Lost and Found". The New York Times Magazine. November 11, 2001. • "A Psychotronic Childhood". The New Yorker. June 4, 2012. • "Hard Times in the Uncanny Valley". Grantland. ESPN. August 24, 2012. • "Occasional Dispatches from the Republic of Anhedonia". Grantland. ESPN. May 19, 2013.

Short stories

• "Down in Front". Granta (86: Film). Summer 2004. • "The Gangsters". The New Yorker. December 22, 2008. • "The Match". The New Yorker. April 1, 2019. • "The Theresa Job". The New Yorker. July 26, 2021.