Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead is an American novelist whose fiction ranges from literary reinterpretations of history to comic speculative narratives. His novels include The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys.

The Underground Railroad: Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel imagines the Underground Railroad as a literal subterranean railway carrying enslaved people to freedom. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel brings his historical imagination and speculative method together.
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is an annual American award recognizing distinguished fiction published in book form. Whitehead won it for both The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys.
Harvard University: Harvard University is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Whitehead studied at Harvard before beginning his career in journalism and fiction.
Magical realism: Magical realism presents extraordinary or supernatural events within otherwise realistic settings and narratives. Whitehead’s literal railway and other speculative premises invite comparison with this mode, though his work spans genres.
Elizabeth Taylor (editor): Elizabeth Taylor is an American editor who has worked with Colson Whitehead at Doubleday. Taylor has edited multiple Whitehead novels, including The Underground Railroad.
The Nickel Boys: Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel follows two Black boys subjected to abuse at a reform school modeled on Florida’s Dozier School. Its account of institutional violence exemplifies his turn from alternate history to documented historical atrocity.
National Book Award for Fiction: The National Book Award for Fiction is an annual American literary prize for a work of fiction by a U.S. author. Whitehead received the award for The Underground Railroad in 2016.
The Village Voice: The Village Voice was an American alternative weekly newspaper founded in New York City in 1955. Whitehead worked there as a television critic before publishing his first novel.
Afrofuturism: Afrofuturism combines African diasporic history and culture with science fiction, fantasy, and speculative thought. His alternate histories connect speculative storytelling with the histories and futures of Black life.
Barry Jenkins: Barry Jenkins is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. Jenkins adapted Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad as a television miniseries.

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The BronxRelated: His fiction and essays draw on his Bronx upbringing.