Whitehead, Colson (1969-…), is an American author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Whitehead explores such themes as slavery and racism in the United States. His works have received critical acclaim. He is one of very few authors to have received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice.
Colson Whitehead was born on Nov. 6, 1969, in New York City . He was raised in Manhattan, a borough (section) of the city. Whitehead was inspired to become a writer after reading a novel by the American horror and suspense author Stephen King . Whitehead earned a B.A. degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1991. After graduation, Whitehead worked at the New York City newspaper The Village Voice. There, he reviewed television, music, and books.
Whitehead published his first novel, The Intuitionist, in 1999. It tells the story of Lila Mae Watson, a Black elevator operator, and the white co-workers who sabotage her career. Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Underground Railroad (2016). The book tells the story of two enslaved people, Cora and Caesar, and their escape to freedom. The story was adapted as a television miniseries in 2021. Whitehead won a second Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Nickel Boys (2019). The book centers on two Black boys who are unjustly sent to a brutal reform school in Florida in the 1960’s.
Whitehead’s other books include the novels John Henry Days (2001), Apex Hides the Hurt (2006), Sag Harbor (2009), and Zone One (2011). Harlem Shuffle (2021) is a crime novel set in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City during the 1950’s. His nonfiction books include The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts (2003) and The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death (2014). Whitehead’s reviews and essays and his other works of fiction have appeared in such publications as the New York Times and the New Yorker.
