P. Djèlí Clark Explained

P. Djèlí Clark
Pseudonym:Phenderson Djèlí Clark
Birth Name:Dexter Gabriel
Birth Place:Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Writer, historian
Nationality:American
Education:Texas State University (BA, MA)
Stony Brook University (Ph.D)
Period:2011–present
Genre:Fantasy, science fiction
Notableworks:
Module:
Child:yes
Thesis Title:A West Indian Jubilee in America: British Emancipation and the American Abolition Movement
Thesis Url:https://www.proquest.com/docview/1817385124/
Thesis Year:2016
Doctoral Advisor:April Masten
Discipline:African American History

Dexter Gabriel (born 1971), better known by his pen name Phenderson Djèlí Clark, is an American speculative fiction writer and historian, who is an assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Connecticut. He uses a pen name to differentiate his literary work from his academic work, and has also published under the name A. Phenderson Clark. This pen name, "Djèlí", makes reference to the griots – traditional Western African storytellers, historians and poets.

In 2022, his fantasy novel A Master of Djinn won the Nebula and Locus Awards. He has also won awards for his short fiction, including the Nebula, Locus and British Fantasy Awards for the novella Ring Shout in 2021.

Life and career

Dexter Gabriel was born in New York City in 1971, but spent most of his early years living in his parents' original home of Trinidad and Tobago.[1] At age eight, he returned to the United States and lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn before moving to Houston, when he was 12.[2] [1] Gabriel went to college at Texas State University, San Marcos, earning a B.A. and then an M.A. in history. He then earned a doctorate in history from Stony Brook University. Gabriel is currently assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Connecticut.[3]

In 2011, Gabriel began publishing short stories variously as P. Djèlí Clark, Djèlí A. Clark, Phenderson Djèlí Clark, and A. Phenderson Clark.[4] Phenderson was his grandfather's name, while Clark was his mother's maiden name; Djèlí refers to West African storytellers, known in French as griots.[1] [5] He chose to use a pen name in order to separate his academic and literary work. In 2016, Clark sold his first major work, a novelette titled "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", to Tor.com.[1]

Since then, he has published novellas, short stories, and a novel. Four of his works – "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili", The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and A Master of Djinn – are set in the same world, an alternate-universe Egypt. They are collectively titled the Ministry of Alchemy series[4] or the Dead Djinn Universe.[6]

Literary recognition

Novels

Year! scope=col style="min-width: 14em"
Workscope=col style="min-width: 10em" Awardscope=col style="min-width: 7em" Resultscope=col class=unsortable
2021A Master of DjinnCompton Crook Award[7]
Dragon Award[8]
Hugo Award
Ignyte Award[9]
Locus Award[10]
Mythopoeic Award
Nebula Award[11]
World Fantasy Award[12]

Novellas

Year! scope=col style="min-width: 14em"
Workscope=col style="min-width: 10em" Awardscope=col style="min-width: 7em" Resultscope=col class=unsortable
scope=row rowspan=4 style="font-weight: normal" 2018The Black God's DrumsHugo Award[13]
Locus Award[14]
Nebula Award
World Fantasy Award
scope=row rowspan=4 style="font-weight: normal" 2019The Haunting of Tram Car 015Hugo Award[15]
Locus Award
Mythopoeic Award
Nebula Award[16]
scope=row rowspan=6 style="font-weight: normal" 2020Ring ShoutBritish Fantasy Award
Hugo Award[17]
Locus Award
Nebula Award[18]
Shirley Jackson Award
World Fantasy Award

Short stories

Year! scope=col style="min-width: 14em"
Workscope=col style="min-width: 10em" Awardscope=col style="min-width: 7em" Resultscope=col
scope=row rowspan=4 style="font-weight: normal" 2018"The Secret Lives of the Nine
Negro Teeth of George
Washington
"
Hugo Award[19]
Locus Award[20]
Nebula Award[21]
Sturgeon Award[22]
scope=row rowspan=3 style="font-weight: normal" 2021"If the Martians Have Magic"Locus Award
Sturgeon Award[23]
World Fantasy Award
scope=row style="font-weight: normal" 2024"How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub"Hugo Award[24]

Partial bibliography

Dead Djinn Universe

Other works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Phenderson Djèlí Clark: Wonderful Things to Behold . . October 28, 2019 . November 2, 2019.
  2. Web site: Interview With an Author: P. Djèlí Clark . Daryl . Maxwell . . October 2, 2018 . November 2, 2019.
  3. Web site: 2016-08-15 . Dexter Gabriel Department of History . 2021-03-31 . . en-US.
  4. Encyclopedia: Clark, Phenderson Djèlí . . Clute . John . John Clute . Clute . John . Langford . David . David Langford . 4th . May 26, 2022 . May 23, 2022.
  5. Web site: Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology . Fortier . Ron . Ron Fortier . New York Journal of Books . September 14, 2021.
  6. Web site: The 50 best science fiction and fantasy books of the past decade . . Mayer . Petra . Petra Mayer . August 18, 2021.
  7. Clark Wins 2022 Compton Crook Award . . April 12, 2022 . July 6, 2022.
  8. Web site: Glyer . Mike . 2021-08-12 . 2021 Dragon Awards Ballot . 2024-04-15 . File 770 . en-US.
  9. FIYAH Magazine . FIYAH Literary Magazine . fiyahlitmag . 1571259393836216320 . September 17, 2022 . And the best 2022 Novel winner is... @pdjeliclark's A Master of Djinn #IGNYTEAwards . September 17, 2022 .
  10. 2022 Locus Awards Winners . . June 25, 2022 . June 25, 2022.
  11. SFWA Announces the Winners of the 57th Annual Nebula Awards® . . May 21, 2022 . May 22, 2022.
  12. 2022 World Fantasy Awards Finalists . . July 20, 2022 . July 20, 2022.
  13. Web site: 2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award Finalists . Morgan . Cheryl . Cheryl Morgan . . World Science Fiction Society . April 2, 2019 . April 11, 2020.
  14. Web site: P. Djèlí Clark Awards . . Locus Science Fiction Foundation . 7 September 2022.
  15. Web site: Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Finalists . . Macmillan . April 7, 2020 . April 11, 2020.
  16. Web site: 2019 Nebula Awards . . . April 11, 2020.
  17. Web site: 2021 Hugo Awards . . January 2021 . World Science Fiction Society . September 14, 2021.
  18. Web site: SFWA Announces 56th Annual Nebula Award Winners . . Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America . June 5, 2021 . June 6, 2021.
  19. Web site: 2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award Finalists . . World Science Fiction Society . April 2, 2019 . November 2, 2019.
  20. Web site: 2019 Locus Awards Winners . 2019-06-29 . . en-US . 2019-11-02.
  21. Web site: 2018 Nebula Awards . . en-US . 2019-11-02 . Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
  22. Web site: Sturgeon Award Finalists Announced . . March 5, 2019 . November 2, 2019.
  23. 2022 Sturgeon Award Finalists . . May 13, 2022 . May 13, 2022.
  24. Web site: 2024 Hugo Awards. February 4, 2024.
  25. Book: Bright, Matthew . Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt . 2017 . Twopenny Books . 978-1527207776 . English . 988951623.