Colson Whitehead is an acclaimed American author, born in 1969 to parents who ran an executive recruiting company. He was primarily raised in Manhattan, attending white private schools during the academic year, and spending his summers in a predominantly African-American beach enclave in Sag Harbor, New York. This unique upbringing has significantly influenced his writing, providing him with a distinct perspective on race and identity.
Whitehead studied English and American literature at Harvard College, graduating in 1991. His professional journey began at The Village Voice, a weekly newspaper focusing on investigative journalism, music, arts, and cultural analysis. His literary career took off with the publication of his first novel, "The Intuitionist," in 1999. Since then, he has written eleven works of fiction and non-fiction, earning him numerous accolades and solidifying his position as a prominent voice in American literature.
Among his many achievements, Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for "The Nickel Boys" and "The Underground Railroad," the latter of which also won the National Book Award. He has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Whiting Writers' Award. His works have been recognized with the Young Lions Fiction Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Oakland Award, and the Heartland Prize, among others.
Whitehead's bibliography includes eight novels and two works of non-fiction. His novels, such as "John Henry Days," "Apex Hides the Hurt," "Sag Harbor," and "Zone One," have received critical acclaim for their incisive social commentary and compelling storytelling. His non-fiction works, "The Colossus of New York" and "The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death," offer unique insights into the city of New York and the world of professional poker, respectively. Whitehead's latest novel, "Harlem Shuffle," is the first book in The Harlem Trilogy, with the second installment, "Crook Manifesto," published in 2023.