Colson Whitehead
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Biography
Colson Whitehead was born on November 6, 1969 in New York City, New York. He is an acclaimed American novelist whose works span speculative fiction, historical narrative, and essay. Raised in Manhattan, Whitehead attended Trinity School and later graduated from Harvard University in 1991.
Whitehead began his professional career as a writer at The Village Voice, writing about books, television, and music, before publishing his first novel, The Intuitionist, in 1999 — a story loosely centered on elevator inspectors and social divisions. Over the ensuing decades, he published numerous influential works. His Colson Whitehead boks include John Henry Days (2001), The Colossus of New York (2003), Apex Hides the Hurt (2006), Sag Harbor (2009), Zone One (2011), The Underground Railroad (2016), The Nickel Boys (2019), Harlem Shuffle (2021), and the more recent Crook Manifesto.
Whitehead’s work has earned him widespread recognition and many awards. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002. His novel The Underground Railroad won the National Book Award in 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2017. He won the Pulitzer Prize again in 2020 for The Nickel Boys, making him one of the very few authors to receive the honor twice. In addition, he holds a Guggenheim Fellowship (2013) and was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2021 for his profound exploration of American history, race, and identity.
His novelistic range is striking: Zone One blends zombie horror with social critique; The Underground Railroad reimagines the historical escape network as a literal subterranean railway; The Nickel Boys confronts the brutal legacy of Jim Crow through the lens of a reform school. Whitehead has also written non-fiction, including The Colossus of New York, an affectionate essay collection about his hometown, and The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky & Death, a memoir-like account of his experience at the World Series of Poker.
Beyond his books, Whitehead’s impact extends to literary and cultural institutions. In 2020, the Library of Congress awarded him its prestigious Prize for American Fiction, recognizing his lifetime body of work.
Colson Whitehead lives in New York City with his wife, literary agent Julie Barer, and their two children. Through his powerful storytelling, deep moral insight, and inventive use of genre, he continues to challenge and enrich our understanding of America’s past and present.
Achievements
- See Notable Works below
- Awards: MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, National Humanities Medal
References
Notable Works
The Intuitionist [Novel] (1999)
John Henry Days [Novel] (2001)
The Underground Railroad [Novel] (2016)
The Nickel Boys [Novel] (2019)
📍 Birthplace Location
🏙️ Also born in New York City (22 total)
Born on this day
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