P. Djèlí Clark
American writer (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
1971 (age 54–55)
Stony Brook University (Ph.D)
P. Djèlí Clark | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dexter Gabriel 1971 (age 54–55) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Texas State University (BA, MA) Stony Brook University (Ph.D) |
| Occupations | Writer, historian |
| Writing career | |
| Pen name | Phenderson Djèlí Clark |
| Period | 2011–present |
| Genres | Fantasy, Science Fiction |
| Notable work |
|
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | A West Indian Jubilee in America: British Emancipation and the American Abolition Movement (2016) |
| April Masten | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | African American History |
| Institutions | University of Connecticut |
| Website | pdjeliclark |
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][2] At age eight, he returned to the United States and lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn before moving to Houston, when he was 12.[3][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.[4]
In 2011, Gabriel began publishing short stories variously as P. Djèlí Clark, Djèlí A. Clark, Phenderson Djèlí Clark, and A. Phenderson Clark.[2] 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[2] or the Dead Djinn Universe.[6]
He has been announced as Guest of Honour at the 2027 Eastercon[7] and was a Guest of Honor at Readercon 2025.[8]
Awards
Works
Dead Djinn Universe
- "A Dead Djinn in Cairo". Tor.com. May 18, 2016. ASIN B01DJ0NALI.
- "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili". Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt. Matthew Bright, ed. Twopenny Books. June 14, 2017. ASIN B071KGGS6M.
- The Haunting of Tram Car 015. Tordotcom. February 19, 2019. ISBN 9781250294807.
- A Master of Djinn. Tordotcom. May 11, 2021. ISBN 9781250267689.
For young readers
- Abeni's Song
- Abeni's Song. Starscape. July 25, 2023. ISBN 9781250825827.
- Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold. Starscape. April 29, 2025. ISBN 9781250825858.
- Abeni and the People Who Could Fly. Starscape. May 4, 2027. ISBN 9781250825889.
Standalone novellas
- The Black God's Drums. Tordotcom. August 21, 2018. ISBN 9781250294715.
- Ring Shout. Tordotcom. October 13, 2020. ISBN 9781250767028.
- The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. Tordotcom. August 6, 2024. ISBN 9781250767042.
Other works
- "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington". Fireside Fiction. February 2018
- "If the Martians Have Magic". Uncanny Magazine. No. 42. September 7, 2021.
As Dexter Gabriel
- Jubilee’s Experiment: The British West Indies and American Abolitionism. Cambridge University Press, April 2023.[4]