Patricia Powell is a highly accomplished Jamaican-born author, currently residing in the United States. She was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, in 1966 and immigrated to the US as a teenager with her parents. Powell's passion for literature led her to pursue a bachelor's degree in English from Wellesley College. Her thirst for knowledge did not stop there, as she went on to attend Brown University, earning her MFA in fiction under the guidance of renowned author Michael Ondaatje.
Powell's writing career took off in 1993 with the publication of her first novel, "Me Dying Trial." Since then, she has added three more novels to her repertoire, including "The Pagoda," "A Small Gathering of Bones," and "The Fullness of Everything." Powell's work has not only gained critical acclaim but has also been widely anthologized, and she has been invited to speak and lead creative writing workshops at various literary venues both nationally and internationally.
Throughout her career, Powell has received numerous accolades for her literary contributions. In 1993, she was a finalist for Granta's Best of Young American Novelists Award. She has also been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including a PEN New England Discovery Award, The Publishing Triangle's Ferro-Grumley Award for fiction, and The Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Writers' Award. Currently, Powell is an associate professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Mills College, where she continues to inspire and educate future generations of writers. Fans of Powell's work can look forward to the release of her fifth novel, which is yet to come.