ZZ Packer
Encyclopedia
ZZ Packer is an African-American author
, notable for her works of short fiction.
and Louisville, Kentucky
. "ZZ" was a childhood nickname; her given name is Zuwena (Swahili
for "good"). Recognized as a talented writer at an early age, her first significant publication was in Seventeen magazine at the age of 19. She is a 1990 graduate of Seneca High School, in Louisville, KY.
Packer attended Yale University
, where she received a B.A in 1994. Her graduate work included an M.A. at Johns Hopkins University
in 1995 and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop
of the University of Iowa
in 1999. She was named a Stegner Fellow
in Fiction at Stanford University
.
Shortly thereafter, she entered the national literary scene with a high-profile appearance in the Debut Fiction issue of The New Yorker
(2000). Her short story in the issue became the title story in her collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Riverhead Books, 2003), which was published to considerable acclaim. As Publishers Weekly
put it, "this debut short story collection is getting the highest of accolades from the New York Times, Harper's, the New Yorker and most every other branch of the literary criticism
tree." The book was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, a New York Times Notable Book, and personally selected by John Updike
for the Today Show Book Club. Her stories have also appeared in Best American Short Stories
2000 and 2003 and she edited New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2008.
In 2005, she was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
for fiction. She was a member of the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, a workspace co-operative that also includes Po Bronson
, Julia Scheeres
, Tom Barbash
, Peter Orner
, and Jason Roberts
, among others. In Spring 2007 she was named one of American's Best Young Novelists by Granta
as well as one of Smithsonian Magazine's Young Innovators in October 2007. In June, 2010, Packer was selected as one of The New Yorker
magazine's "20 under 40" luminary fiction writers.
She is currently at work on a novel set in the aftermath of the Civil War
:
magazine's "20 under 40" issue.
She was Writer-in-Residence at the Tulane University
English Department Creative Writing Program during the Fall 2007 semester, She became the Lurie Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing (joining the ranks of Simon Winchester
, Ishmael Reed
, James D. Houston
, Molly Giles
, Ursula K. Le Guin
, James Kelman
, Al Young
, Sandra M. Gilbert, and Carolyn Kizer
) at San Jose State University
during the Spring 2008 semester. She taught Creative Writing at the Michener Center for Writers
at the University of Texas at Austin
in Fall 2008 and was a Vassar
Writer-in-Residence in spring 2009. In spring 2010, she was the Visiting Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA Program of Creative Writing at Texas State University and became a Hodder fellow at Princeton University
in Fall 2010.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, notable for her works of short fiction.
Life
She grew up in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. "ZZ" was a childhood nickname; her given name is Zuwena (Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
for "good"). Recognized as a talented writer at an early age, her first significant publication was in Seventeen magazine at the age of 19. She is a 1990 graduate of Seneca High School, in Louisville, KY.
Packer attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where she received a B.A in 1994. Her graduate work included an M.A. at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in 1995 and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
of the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1999. She was named a Stegner Fellow
Stegner Fellowship
The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner , an historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty member who founded the university's creative writing program. Ten...
in Fiction at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Shortly thereafter, she entered the national literary scene with a high-profile appearance in the Debut Fiction issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
(2000). Her short story in the issue became the title story in her collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Riverhead Books, 2003), which was published to considerable acclaim. As Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
put it, "this debut short story collection is getting the highest of accolades from the New York Times, Harper's, the New Yorker and most every other branch of the literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
tree." The book was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, a New York Times Notable Book, and personally selected by John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
for the Today Show Book Club. Her stories have also appeared in Best American Short Stories
Best American Short Stories
The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in contemporary American literature.-Edward O'Brien:The...
2000 and 2003 and she edited New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2008.
In 2005, she was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
for fiction. She was a member of the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, a workspace co-operative that also includes Po Bronson
Po Bronson
Po Bronson is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco, California.-Personal history:Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986 and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San...
, Julia Scheeres
Julia Scheeres
Julia Scheeres , is a journalist, nonfiction author and novelist. Born February 12, 1967 in Lafayette, Indiana, Scheeres received a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a master's in journalism from the University of Southern California...
, Tom Barbash
Tom Barbash
Tom Barbash is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction, educator and critic. He is the author of the novel The Last Good Chance and the bestselling nonfiction work On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick & 9/11: A Story of Loss & Renewal...
, Peter Orner
Peter Orner
Peter Orner is an American writer of fiction. He is the author of the novels Love and Shame and Love and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo and the short story collection Esther Stories...
, and Jason Roberts
Jason Roberts (author)
Jason Roberts is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction. He is best known for the bestselling A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler , a biography of James Holman, the blind adventurer of the early 19th century...
, among others. In Spring 2007 she was named one of American's Best Young Novelists by Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
as well as one of Smithsonian Magazine's Young Innovators in October 2007. In June, 2010, Packer was selected as one of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine's "20 under 40" luminary fiction writers.
She is currently at work on a novel set in the aftermath of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
:
The subject is the Buffalo Soldiers; blacks who left the South, Louisiana in this case, and traveled to the West...You don't hear much about blacks in the West and I became really fascinated by them. I thought to justify my interest I had better write about them.A short story excerpted from the novel was published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine's "20 under 40" issue.
She was Writer-in-Residence at the Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
English Department Creative Writing Program during the Fall 2007 semester, She became the Lurie Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing (joining the ranks of Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester, OBE , is a British-American author and journalist who resides mostly in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal...
, Ishmael Reed
Ishmael Reed
Ishmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
, James D. Houston
James D. Houston
James Dudley Houston was an American novelist. He wrote nine novels in total.Houston was born in San Francisco, where his parents had migrated from Quanah, Texas, a small town near Oklahoma...
, Molly Giles
Molly Giles
Molly Giles is a short story writer and professor at the University of Arkansas. She formerly taught at San Francisco State University. She is the author of Creek Walk and Other Stories published in 1997 and the novel Iron Shoes published in 2000...
, Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, James Kelman
James Kelman
James Kelman is an influential writer of novels, short stories, plays and political essays. His novel A Disaffection was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989...
, Al Young
Al Young
Al Young is an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. On May 15, 2005 he was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In appointing Young as Poet Laureate, the Governor praised him: "He is an educator and a man with a passion for the Arts...
, Sandra M. Gilbert, and Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Ashley Kizer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet of the Pacific Northwest whose works reflect her feminism.-Life and work:...
) at San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
during the Spring 2008 semester. She taught Creative Writing at the Michener Center for Writers
Michener Center for Writers
The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin.-History:...
at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in Fall 2008 and was a Vassar
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
Writer-in-Residence in spring 2009. In spring 2010, she was the Visiting Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA Program of Creative Writing at Texas State University and became a Hodder fellow at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in Fall 2010.
Honors
- Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' AwardRona Jaffe Foundation Writers' AwardThe Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award is an award given annually to women writers of exceptional talent, with an emphasis on those at early stages of their careers. Established in 1995 by American author Rona Jaffe, the Foundation offers grants to writers of poetry, fiction, and creative...
(1997) - Whiting Writers' AwardWhiting Writers' AwardThe Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
(1999) - Bellingham Review Award, for the short story “Brownies” (1999)
- Best American Short Stories (2000)
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in fiction (2005)