View source for Colson Whitehead

{{short description|American novelist (born 1969)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Colson Whitehead
| image            = Colson whitehead 2014.jpg
| alt              = Whitehead at the 2014 Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas
| caption          = Whitehead in 2014
| birth_name       = Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1969|11|06}}
| birth_place      = New York City, U.S.
| occupation       = Writer
| education        = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| genre            = Fiction, non-fiction
| notableworks     = ''[[The Intuitionist]]'' (1999), ''[[John Henry Days]]'' (2001), ''[[Zone One]]'' (2011), ''[[The Underground Railroad (novel)|The Underground Railroad]]'' (2016), ''[[The Nickel Boys]]'' (2019)
| awards           = [[National Book Award for Fiction]] (2016) <br/> [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]] (2017 and 2020)
| website          = {{URL|http://colsonwhitehead.com}}
| spouse           = Julie Barer
| children         = 2
}}
'''Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=In 'The Nickel Boys,' Colson Whitehead Continues to Make a Classic American Genre His Own |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/books/review-nickel-boys-colson-whitehead.html |last=Sehgal |first=Parul |author-link=Parul Sehgal |date=July 11, 2019 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-date=April 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402103140/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/books/review-nickel-boys-colson-whitehead.html |url-status=live }}</ref> (born November 6, 1969) is an American [[novelist]]. He is the author of nine novels, including his [[1999 in literature|1999]] debut ''[[The Intuitionist]]''; ''[[The Underground Railroad (novel)|The Underground Railroad]]'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 [[National Book Award for Fiction]] and the 2017 [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]]; and ''[[The Nickel Boys]]'', for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction again in 2020, making him one of only four writers ever to win the prize twice.<ref>{{Cite web | title =2017 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nominees | publisher =[[The Pulitzer Prizes]] | year =2017 | url =http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2017 | access-date =April 10, 2017 | archive-date =April 11, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170411012940/http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2017 | url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url =https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2020 | title =2020 Pulitzer Prizes | publisher =The Pulitzer Prizes | year =2020 | access-date =May 4, 2020 | archive-date =July 30, 2020 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200730234718/https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2020 | url-status =live }}</ref> He has also published two books of nonfiction. In 2002, he received a [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellowship]].

==Early life==
Whitehead was born in [[New York City]] on November 6, 1969, and grew up in [[Manhattan]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maus|first=Derek C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzwKEAAAQBAJ|title=Understanding Colson Whitehead|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-64336-175-8|edition=2nd|pages=2|oclc=1228234654|access-date=September 4, 2021|archive-date=March 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322053629/https://books.google.com/books?id=TzwKEAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> He is one of four children of successful entrepreneur parents who owned an executive recruiting firm.<ref name="Time interview">{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/5615610/colson-whitehead-the-nickel-boys-interview/ |title='I Carry It Within Me.' Novelist Colson Whitehead Reminds Us How America's Racist History Lives On |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Mitchell S. |last=Jackson |date=June 27, 2019 |access-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123032525/https://time.com/5615610/colson-whitehead-the-nickel-boys-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/07/colson-whitehead-underground-railroad |title=Colson Whitehead: 'To deal with this subject with the gravity it deserved was scary' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |first=Emma |last=Brockes |date=July 7, 2017 |access-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107005408/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/07/colson-whitehead-underground-railroad |url-status=live }}</ref> As a child in Manhattan, Whitehead went by his first name Arch. He later switched to Chipp, before switching to Colson.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Colson Whitehead: 'We have kids in concentration camps. But I have to be hopeful' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/20/colson-whitehead-reality-is-kids-shot-by-racist-cops |last=Sandhu |first=Sukhdev |date=July 20, 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506193741/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/20/colson-whitehead-reality-is-kids-shot-by-racist-cops |url-status=live }}</ref> He attended [[Trinity School (New York City)|Trinity School]] in Manhattan and graduated from [[Harvard University]] in 1991. In college, he became friends with poet [[Kevin Young (poet)|Kevin Young]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4656062/colson-whitehead-the-truth-of-things-not-the-facts/?cs=36|title=Colson Whitehead: 'The truth of things, not the facts'|last=Purcell|first=Andrew|date=May 20, 2017|work=Western Advocate|access-date=June 12, 2017|language=en|archive-date=August 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808002155/http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4656062/colson-whitehead-the-truth-of-things-not-the-facts/?cs=36|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Career ==
After graduating from college, Whitehead wrote for ''[[The Village Voice]]''.<ref name="Biography">{{cite web|url=http://www.colsonwhitehead.com/biography.shtml|title=Colson Whitehead|access-date=March 18, 2008|publisher=Colsonwhitehead.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080306033547/http://www.colsonwhitehead.com/biography.shtml <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = March 6, 2008}}</ref><ref name=rumpus>{{cite web |url=http://therumpus.net/2012/07/the-rumpus-interview-with-colson-whitehead/ |title=Interview with Colson Whitehead |first=Nancy |last=Smith |work=The Rumpus |date=July 17, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2013 |archive-date=June 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617104144/http://therumpus.net/2012/07/the-rumpus-interview-with-colson-whitehead/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While working at the ''Voice'', he began drafting his first novels.

Early in his career, Whitehead lived in [[Fort Greene, Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/urbandev/features/n_10289/|title=Don't You Be My Neighbor|website=NYMag.com|date=April 23, 2004 |access-date=February 19, 2019|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511135550/https://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/urbandev/features/n_10289/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Whitehead has since produced 11 book-length works—nine novels and two nonfiction works, including a meditation on life in Manhattan in the style of [[E. B. White]]'s famous 1949 essay ''Here Is New York''. Whitehead's books are ''[[The Intuitionist]]'' (1999); ''[[John Henry Days]]'' (2001); ''[[The Colossus of New York (book)|The Colossus of New York]]'' (2003); ''[[Apex Hides the Hurt]]'' (2006); ''[[Sag Harbor (novel)|Sag Harbor]]'' (2009); 2011's ''[[Zone One]]'', a [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' bestseller]]; 2016's ''The Underground Railroad'', which earned a [[National Book Award for Fiction]]; ''[[The Nickel Boys]]'' (2019);<ref name="nationalbook.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2016winner_f_whitehead-underground-railroad.html#.WC2N-fmLS70|title=The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead, 2016 National Book Award Winner, Fiction|access-date=November 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208042855/http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2016winner_f_whitehead-underground-railroad.html#.WC2N-fmLS70|archive-date=December 8, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Bibliography">{{cite web |url=http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1033 |title=Colson Whitehead |access-date=March 18, 2008 |publisher=Pen.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610010738/http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1033 |archive-date=June 10, 2007 }}</ref> ''[[Harlem Shuffle (novel)|Harlem Shuffle]]'' (2021); and ''[[Crook Manifesto]]'' (2023). ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine named ''The Intuitionist'' the best first novel of the year, and ''[[GQ]]'' called it one of the "novels of the millennium".<ref name="John Updike 2001">Updike, John (May 7, 2001), "Tote That Ephemera", ''[[The New Yorker]]''.</ref> Novelist [[John Updike]], reviewing ''The Intuitionist'' in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', called Whitehead "ambitious", "scintillating", and "strikingly original", adding: "The young African-American writer to watch may well be a thirty-one-year-old Harvard graduate with the vivid name of Colson Whitehead."<ref name="John Updike 2001"/>

''The Intuitionist'' was nominated as the Common Novel at [[Rochester Institute of Technology]] (RIT). The Common Novel nomination was part of a longtime tradition at the Institute that included such authors as [[Maya Angelou]], [[Andre Dubus III]], [[William Joseph Kennedy]], and [[Anthony Swofford]].

Whitehead's nonfiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The New Yorker]]'', ''[[Granta]]'', and ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's]]''.<ref name=dospassos />

[[File:Colson Whitehead @ BBF (6161074114).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Whitehead at the 2011 [[Brooklyn Book Festival]]]]

His nonfiction account of the [[2011 World Series of Poker]], ''The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky & Death'', was published by [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] in 2014.

Whitehead has taught at [[Princeton University]], [[New York University]], the [[University of Houston]], [[Columbia University]], [[Brooklyn College]], [[Hunter College]], and [[Wesleyan University]]. He has been a writer-in-residence at [[Vassar College]], the [[University of Richmond]], and the [[University of Wyoming]].

In 2015, he joined ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' to write a column on language.

''[[The Underground Railroad (novel)|The Underground Railroad]]'' was a selection of [[Oprah's Book Club 2.0]], and was chosen by President [[Barack Obama]] as one of five books on his summer vacation reading list.<ref>Malloy, Allie, [https://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/12/politics/obama-summer-reading-list/ "Obama summer reading list: 'The Girl on the Train'"], [[CNN]], August 12, 2016.</ref><ref>Begley, Sarah, [https://time.com/4450367/president-obama-summer-reading-list-2016/ "Here’s What President Obama Is Reading This Summer"], ''Time'', August 12, 2016.</ref> In 2017, the novel was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction at the American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference in [[Atlanta]], Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-ala-winners-20170123-story.html|title=American Library Assn.'s 2017 award winners include 'March: Book Three' by Rep. John Lewis|last=French|first=Agatha|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 23, 2017|access-date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=February 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124155/https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-ala-winners-20170123-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Colson was honored with the 2017 [[Hurston/Wright Legacy Award|Hurston/Wright Award]] for fiction presented by the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation.<ref>[https://www.jbhe.com/2017/10/colson-whitehead-honored-once-again-for-his-novel-the-underground-railroad/ "Colson Whitehead Honored Once Again for His Novel ''The Underground Railroad''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025233922/https://www.jbhe.com/2017/10/colson-whitehead-honored-once-again-for-his-novel-the-underground-railroad/ |date=October 25, 2017 }}, ''[[The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]'', October 25, 2017.</ref> ''The Underground Railroad'' won the [[2017 Pulitzer Prize|2017]] [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]]. Judges of the prize called the novel "a smart melding of realism and allegory that combines the violence of slavery and the drama of escape in a myth that speaks to contemporary America".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)|website=pulitzer.org|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/colson-whitehead|access-date=20 January 2021|archive-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507050155/https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/colson-whitehead|url-status=live}}</ref>

Whitehead's seventh novel, ''[[The Nickel Boys]]'', was published in 2019. It was inspired by the story of the [[Dozier School for Boys]] in Florida, where children convicted of minor offenses suffered violent abuse.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-05-05|title=Author wins Pulitzer Prize for a second time|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52539086|access-date=2020-05-05|archive-date=May 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505085246/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52539086|url-status=live}}</ref> In conjunction with its publication, Whitehead was featured on the cover ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's July 8, 2019, edition, alongside the [[strap-line]] "America's Storyteller".<ref name="Time interview" /> ''The Nickel Boys'' won the [[2020 Pulitzer Prize|2020]] [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Colson Whitehead and This American Life among Pulitzer 2020 winners |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/04/pulitizer-prize-2020-winners-colson-whitehead-this-american-life |last=Lee |first=Benjamin |date=May 4, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504202637/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/04/pulitizer-prize-2020-winners-colson-whitehead-this-american-life |url-status=live }}</ref> Judges of the prize called the novel "a spare and devastating exploration of abuse at a reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida that is ultimately a powerful tale of human perseverance, dignity and redemption".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moser, Whitehead, McDaniel, Grandin, Boyer, Brown Win 2020 Pulitzers |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/83233-pulitzer-prizes-2020.html |last=Maher |first=John |date=May 4, 2020 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130123841/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/83233-pulitzer-prizes-2020.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was Whitehead's second win, making him the fourth writer to win the prize twice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colson Whitehead Wins Second Pulitzer Prize for Fiction |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/colson-whitehead-wins-second-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction |last=Tucker |first=Emma |date=May 4, 2020 |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507201857/https://www.thedailybeast.com/colson-whitehead-wins-second-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, it was announced that Whitehead will executive produce the upcoming [[The Nickel Boys (film)|film adaptation of the same name]].<ref name="Cast">{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt t |date=October 27, 2022  |title=Aunjanue Ellis & Four Others Set For RaMell Ross' Colson Whitehead Adaptation 'The Nickel Boys' For MGM's Orion; Plan B, Anonymous Producing |url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/aunjanue-ellis-four-others-set-for-ramell-ross-colson-whitehead-adaptation-the-nickel-boys-for-mgms-orion-plan-b-anonymous-producing-1235156604/ |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|archive-date=January 1, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101014319/https://deadline.com/2022/10/aunjanue-ellis-four-others-set-for-ramell-ross-colson-whitehead-adaptation-the-nickel-boys-for-mgms-orion-plan-b-anonymous-producing-1235156604/}}</ref>

Whitehead's eighth novel, ''[[Harlem Shuffle (novel)|Harlem Shuffle]]'', was conceived and begun before he wrote ''The Nickel Boys''. It is a work of crime fiction set in Harlem during the 1960s.<ref name="Time interview" /> Whitehead spent years writing it, and finished it in "bite-sized chunks" during the months he spent in quarantine in New York City during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Canfield |first=David |date=July 15, 2020 |title=Colson Whitehead is now the most decorated writer of his generation. He's not slowing down |url=https://ew.com/books/author-interviews/colson-whitehead-nickel-boys-pulitzer-prize-quarantine/ |access-date=January 2, 2021 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210040841/https://ew.com/books/author-interviews/colson-whitehead-nickel-boys-pulitzer-prize-quarantine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Harlem Shuffle'' was published by Doubleday on September 14, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608669/harlem-shuffle-by-colson-whitehead/ |access-date=December 26, 2020 |website=[[Penguin Random House]] |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221181047/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608669/harlem-shuffle-by-colson-whitehead/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Crook Manifesto]]'', Whitehead's ninth novel and a follow-up to ''Harlem Shuffle'', was published on July 18, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead: 9780385545150 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608670/crook-manifesto-by-colson-whitehead/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Whitehead lives in Manhattan and also owns a home in [[Sag Harbor]] on [[Long Island]]. His wife, Julie Barer, is a literary agent. They have two children.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Sean|last=O'Hagan|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/21/colson-whitehead-we-invent-all-sorts-of-different-reasons-to-hate-people|title=Colson Whitehead: 'We invent all sorts of different reasons to hate people'|date=June 21, 2020|newspaper=[[The Observer]]|access-date=September 4, 2021|archive-date=September 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904130018/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/21/colson-whitehead-we-invent-all-sorts-of-different-reasons-to-hate-people|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Honors ==
*2000: [[Whiting Awards|Whiting Award]]
*2002: [[MacArthur Fellowship]]
*2007: [[Cullman Center|Cullman Center for Writers and Scholars Fellowship]]
*2012: [[Dos Passos Prize]]<ref name=dospassos>{{cite web |url=http://www.longwood.edu/2013releases_47316.htm |title=Colson Whitehead to be awarded Longwood's Dos Passos Prize for Literature |publisher=Longwood University |date=February 25, 2013 |access-date=May 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512142101/http://www.longwood.edu/2013releases_47316.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
*2013: [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]
*2018: [[Harvard Arts Medal]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/4/27/colson-whitehead-arts-medal/|title=Novelist Colson Whitehead Wins 2018 Harvard Arts Medal|work=The Harvard Crimson|first1=Karina G.|last1=Gonzalez-Espinoza|first2=Grace|last2=Lin|date=April 27, 2018|access-date=January 18, 2021|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211222814/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/4/27/colson-whitehead-arts-medal/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*2020: [[Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/4fc8d3ae9e4496326a163c4c3d2344ee|title=Library of Congress to honor author Colson Whitehead|work=AP News|date=July 13, 2020|access-date=November 26, 2020|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418011300/https://apnews.com/article/4fc8d3ae9e4496326a163c4c3d2344ee|url-status=live}}</ref>
*2023: [[National Humanities Medal]]
*2024: [[Langston Hughes Medal]]
*

=== Literary awards ===
{{More citations needed|awd tables col|date=November 2024}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Work
! Award
! Category
! Result
! Ref
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2000
| rowspan="2" | ''[[The Intuitionist]]''
| [[PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel|PEN/Hemingway Award]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Whiting Awards]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2001
| rowspan="6" | ''[[John Henry Days]]''
| [[Los Angeles Times Book Prize|''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Salon.com|Salon Book Award]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2002
| [[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Pulitzer Prize]] || [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction|Fiction]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Young Lions Fiction Award]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
!2008
|''[[Apex Hides the Hurt]]''
|[[PEN Oakland awards|PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award]]
|—
|{{Won}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2010
| rowspan="4" | ''[[Sag Harbor (novel)|Sag Harbor]]''
| [[Hurston/Wright Legacy Award]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction|PEN/Faulkner Award]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2011
| [[International Dublin Literary Award]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
| [[Long Island Reads]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
!2012
|''[[Zone One]]''
|[[Hurston/Wright Legacy Award]]
|—
|{{Sho}}
|
|-
! rowspan="4" | 2016
| rowspan="25" | ''[[The Underground Railroad (novel)|The Underground Railroad]]''
| [[Booklist Editors' Choice]] || Adult Audio || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Goodreads Choice Awards]] || Historical Fiction || {{won}}{{em dash}}1st||<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Historical Fiction! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-historical-fiction-books-2016 |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Goodreads}}</ref>
|-
| [[Kirkus Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[National Book Award]] || [[National Book Award for Fiction|Fiction]] || {{won}} ||<ref>{{cite web |last=Alter |first=Alexandra |date=October 6, 2016 |title=National Book Awards Finalists Include Colson Whitehead and Viet Thanh Nguyen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/books/national-book-awards-finalists-include-colson-whitehead-and-viet-thanh-nguyen.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629035005/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/books/national-book-awards-finalists-include-colson-whitehead-and-viet-thanh-nguyen.html |archive-date=June 29, 2023 |access-date=December 11, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}<br />{{cite web |last=Crucchiola |first=Jordan |date=November 16, 2016 |title=Here Are the 2016 National Book Award Winners |url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/here-are-this-years-national-book-award-winners.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212055839/https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/here-are-this-years-national-book-award-winners.html |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="20" |2017
|[[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence]]
|Fiction|| {{won}} 
|
|-
| [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Audie Award]]|| [[Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year|Audiobook of the Year]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Audie Award for Literary Fiction or Classics|Literary Fiction & Classics]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Audie Award for Best Female Narrator|Female Narrator]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Black Caucus of the American Library Association|BCALA Literary Awards]] || Fiction || {{sho|Honor}} ||
|-
| [[Booker Prize]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
| [[Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards]] || Novel || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Heartland Prize|Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Clark Fiction Prize]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Dayton Literary Peace Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Hurston/Wright Legacy Award]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Indies Choice Book Awards]] || Adult Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel|John W. Campbell Memorial Award]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Locus Award]] || [[Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel|Science Fiction Novel]] || {{nom}} ||
|-
| [[NAACP Image Awards]] || [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction|Fiction]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[PEN/Jean Stein Book Award]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Pulitzer Prize]] || [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction|Fiction]] || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[TCK Publishing Reader's Choice Award]] || Novel || {{won}} ||
|-
!2018
| [[International Dublin Literary Award]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
! rowspan="5" | 2019
| rowspan="16" | ''[[The Nickel Boys]]''
| [[Foyles Book of the Year|Foyles Books of the Year]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Goodreads Choice Awards]] || Historical Fiction || {{nom}}{{em dash}}2nd||<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Historical Fiction! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-historical-fiction-books-2019 |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Goodreads}}</ref>
|-
| [[Kirkus Prize]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||<ref>{{cite web |date=2019-10-24 |title=Colson Whitehead Novel Wins $50,000 Kirkus Prize |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2019-10-24/colson-whitehead-novel-wins-50-000-kirkus-prize |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418015557/https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2019-10-24/colson-whitehead-novel-wins-50-000-kirkus-prize |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |access-date=2002-03-04 |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Book Award]] || [[National Book Award for Fiction|Fiction]]|| {{nom|Longlisted}} ||<ref>{{cite web |last=Malone Kircher |first=Madison |date=September 20, 2019 |title=Here Is the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction Longlist |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/2019-national-book-award-for-fiction-longlist.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222113225/https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/2019-national-book-award-for-fiction-longlist.html |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |access-date=December 22, 2023 |work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] || [[National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction|Fiction]] || {{sho}} ||
|-
! rowspan="11" | 2020
| [[Alex Award]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence]] || [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction#Fiction|Fiction]] || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
| [[Aspen Words Literary Prize]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
| [[Audie Award]] || Male Narrator || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[BCALA Literary Awards]] || Fiction || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[BookTube Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho|Quarterfinalist}} ||
|-
| [[Dayton Literary Peace Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Orwell Prize]] || Political Fiction || {{won}} ||<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2020-07-10 |title=Clanchy, Whitehead win 2020 Orwell Prize |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/07/10/153379/clanchy-whitehead-win-2020-orwell-prize/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125104350/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2020/07/10/153379/clanchy-whitehead-win-2020-orwell-prize/ |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |access-date=2020-07-15 |website=Books+Publishing}}</ref>
|-
| [[Pulitzer Prize]] || [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction|Fiction]] || {{won}} ||<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 4, 2020 |title=Announcement of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/news/announcement-2020-pulitzer-prize-winners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504195338/https://www.pulitzer.org/news/announcement-2020-pulitzer-prize-winners |archive-date=May 4, 2020 |access-date=May 4, 2020 |website=The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref>
|-
| [[The Writers' Prize]] || — || {{nom|Longlisted}} ||
|-
| [[Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award|Lincoln Award]] || — || {{nom}} ||
|-
! rowspan="5" | 2021
| rowspan="10" | ''[[Harlem Shuffle (novel)|Harlem Shuffle]]''
| [[Booklist Editors' Choice]] || Adult Audio || {{won}} ||
|-
| [[Goodreads Choice Awards]] || Mystery & Thriller || {{nom}}{{em dash}}6th||<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Mystery & Thriller! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-mystery-thriller-books-2021 |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Goodreads}}</ref>
|-
| [[Hammett Prize]] || — || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Kirkus Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] || [[National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction|Fiction]]|| {{sho}} ||
|-
! rowspan="5" |2022
| [[BookTube Prize]] || Fiction || {{nom|Octofinalist}} ||
|-
| [[Gotham Book Prize]] || Fiction || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[Macavity Award]] || Mystery Novel || {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[NAACP Image Award]] || [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction|Fiction]]|| {{sho}} ||
|-
| [[New York City Book Award]] || — || {{won}} ||
|}

== Works ==

===Fiction===

* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[The Intuitionist]]|year=1999|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385492997}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[John Henry Days]]|year=2001|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385498197}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[Apex Hides the Hurt]]|year=2006|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385507950}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[Sag Harbor (novel)|Sag Harbor]]|year=2009|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385527651}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[Zone One]]|year=2011|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385528078}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[The Underground Railroad (novel)|The Underground Railroad]]|year=2016|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385542364}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[The Nickel Boys]]|year=2019|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385537070}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[Harlem Shuffle (novel)|Harlem Shuffle]]|year=2021|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385545136}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[Crook Manifesto]]|year=2023|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385545150}}

===Non-fiction===

* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[The Colossus of New York (book)|The Colossus of New York]]|year=2003|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385507943}}  
* {{cite book|first=Colson|last=Whitehead|author-mask=2|title=[[The Noble Hustle|The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death]]|year=2014|edition=hardcover 1st|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]|ISBN=9780385537056}}

=== Essays ===
*{{cite journal |date=November 11, 2001 |title=Lost and Found |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/11/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-11-11-01-lost-and-found.html?pagewanted=all |journal=The New York Times Magazine }}
*{{cite magazine |date=June 4, 2012 |title=A Psychotronic Childhood |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/06/04/a-psychotronic-childhood |magazine=The New Yorker }}
*{{cite web |url=http://grantland.com/features/colson-whitehead-olympics/ |title=Hard Times in the Uncanny Valley |date=August 24, 2012 |website=[[Grantland]] |publisher=[[ESPN]] }}
*{{cite web |url=http://grantland.com/features/parts-1-4/ |title=Occasional Dispatches from the Republic of Anhedonia |date=May 19, 2013 |website=Grantland |publisher=ESPN }}

=== Short stories ===
*{{cite journal |date=Summer 2004 |title=Down in Front |url=https://granta.com/down-in-front-2/ |journal=Granta |issue=86: Film |url-access=subscription}}
*{{cite magazine |date=December 22, 2008 |title=The Gangsters |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/22/the-gangsters |magazine=The New Yorker }}
*{{cite magazine |date=April 1, 2019 |title=The Match |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/01/the-match |magazine=The New Yorker }}
*{{cite magazine |date=July 26, 2021 |title=The Theresa Job |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/26/the-theresa-job |magazine=The New Yorker }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Elam, Michele. "Passing in the Post-Race Era: Danzy Senna, Philip Roth, and Colson Whitehead". ''African American Review'', vol. 41, no. 4, 2007, pp.&nbsp;749–68. {{JSTOR|25426988}}.
* Fain, Kimberly (2015). ''Colson Whitehead: The Postracial Voice of Contemporary Literature''. Rowman & Littlefield.
* Kelly, Adam (October 2018). [https://olh.openlibhums.org/articles/10.16995/olh.332/ "Freedom to Struggle: The Ironies of Colson Whitehead"]. Open Library of the Humanities.
* Maus, Derek C. (2021). ''[http://uscpress.com/Understanding-Colson-Whitehead-revised-and-expanded-edition Understanding Colson Whitehead]'', revised and expanded edition. University of South Carolina Press.

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|http://www.colsonwhitehead.com}}
* {{C-SPAN|93345}}
* [http://www.whiting.org/awards/winners/colson-whitehead#/ Profile at The Whiting Foundation]
* [https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2006/09/04/whats-in-a-name "What's in a Name?"] ''[[On Point]]'' (interview, 2006-09-04)
* [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/14/colson-whitehead-when-i-read-invisible-man-i-thought-maybe-theres-room-for-a-black-weirdo-like-me "The books of my life | Colson Whitehead: 'When I read Invisible Man I thought maybe there's room for a Black weirdo like me{{'"}}], ''[[The Guardian]]'', April 14, 2023.

{{Colson Whitehead}}
{{NBA for Fiction 2000–2024}}
{{PulitzerPrize Fiction 2001–2025}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Colson}}
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