Bryan Washington
{{short description|American writer}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Bryan Washington
| honorific_suffix =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|4|22}}
| birth_place = Kentucky, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Writer|scholar}}
| education = University of Houston (BA)
University of New Orleans (MFA)
| period =
| genre = Fiction
| notableworks = Lot
Memorial
| spouse =
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| awards = Dylan Thomas Prize (2020)
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence (2019)
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}}
Bryan Washington (born April 22, 1993){{Cite web |title=Library of Congress LCCN Permalink n2018020990 |url=https://lccn.loc.gov/n2018020990 |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=lccn.loc.gov}} is an American writer from Houston. He published his debut short story collection, Lot, in 2019Luis Alberto Urria, [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/books/review/lot-bryan-washington.html "In Bryan Washington’s ‘Lot,’ Stories Reveal Houston’s Hidden Borders"]. The New York Times, May 14, 2019. and a novel, Memorial, in 2020.
Early life and education
Washington was born 1993 in Kentucky and moved to Katy, Texas when he was 3 years old.{{Cite web|last=Bird|first=Tyson|date=2020-09-24|title=Writer Bryan Washington Brings Another Side of Houston to Life|url=https://texashighways.com/culture/people/writer-bryan-washington-brings-another-side-houston-to-life/|access-date=2020-11-24|website=Texas Highways|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Wolf|first=Brandon|date=2020-10-27|title=Bryan Washington's New Novel Highlights LGBTQ Life in Houston|url=https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2020/10/bryan-washingtons-new-novel-highlights-lgbtq-life-in-houston/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101065758/http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2020/10/bryan-washingtons-new-novel-highlights-lgbtq-life-in-houston/ |archive-date=2020-11-01 |access-date=2020-11-24|website=OutSmart Magazine|language=en-US}} He knew he was gay at a young age but did not formally come out, fearing stigmatization. He graduated from James E. Taylor High School in 2011. Washington graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in English, and continued his education at the University of New Orleans where he graduated with an MFA.{{Cite web|url=https://english.rice.edu/faculty/bryan-washington|title = Bryan Washington | Rice University Department of English}}
Career
For his collection of short stories, Lot, he was recognized as one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35. Lot, a series of interconnected short stories set in Houston, was published in 2019 by Riverhead. The book centers in part on Nicolás, a young man of mixed African American and Latino American descent who works in his family's restaurant while coming to terms with his sexuality.Colin Grant, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/07/lot-bryan-washington-review-tough-tender-houston-short-stories "Lot by Bryan Washington review – tough but tender stories"]. The Guardian, August 7, 2019. The book was the winner of the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence,{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Chevel |title=Houston writer Bryan Washington to receive Gaines Award |url=https://apnews.com/a32a455bd783aafcb4c3e9772c0707d3 |accessdate=February 26, 2020 |work=Associated Press |date=January 30, 2020}} the 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize,{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2020-05-14 |title=Bryan Washington's 'kickass' short stories win £30,000 Dylan Thomas prize |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/14/bryan-washington-kickass-short-stories-win-30000-dylan-thomas-prize-lot-houston |access-date=2024-11-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} and the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.{{Cite magazine |last=Vanderhoof |first=Erin |date=2020-06-01 |title=EXCLUSIVE: The Winners of the 32nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/06/lambda-literary-lammy-32nd-annual-award-winners |access-date=2024-11-10 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}
Washington's debut novel, Memorial, was published on October 27, 2020.{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: 'Lot' author Bryan Washington previews romantic debut novel 'Memorial' |url=https://ew.com/books/2020/02/14/bryan-washington-memorial-novel-preview/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=EW.com |language=en}} In addition to being longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Memorial was also named a New York Times Notable Book.{{Cite web |title=Bryan Washington |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/people/bryan-washington/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=National Book Foundation |language=en-US}} Prior to publication, A24 purchased the rights to adapt the novel for television, with Washington adapting his novel.{{Cite web |last1=Fleming |first1=Mike Jr. |last2=Fleming |first2=Mike Jr |date=October 13, 2020 |title=A24 Wins Hot Novel 'Memorial' By Bryan Washington For TV Division |url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/memorial-bryan-washington-novel-a24-television-rights-deal-1234596641/ |accessdate=October 17, 2020 |website=Deadline Hollywood}} His second novel Family Meal was also shortlisted for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.{{cite web |url=https://www.them.us/story/lambda-literary-awards-2024-shortlist-announcement |title=Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards |work=them. |date=2024-03-27 |access-date=2024-04-05 }}
Washington lectures in English at Rice University, where in July 2020 he was made George Guion Williams Writer in Residence and Scholar in Residence for Racial Justice.
Awards
Bibliography
= Books =
- {{Cite book |last=Washington |title=Lot: Stories |publisher=Riverhead Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-525-53367-2 |edition=1st |author-mask=2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Washington |title=Memorial: A Novel |publisher=Riverhead Books |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-593-08727-5 |author-mask=2 |title-link=Memorial (novel)}}
- {{Cite book |last=Washington |title=Family Meal: A Novel |publisher=Riverhead Books |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-593-42109-3 |edition=1st |author-mask=2}}
= Fiction and essays =
- {{cite magazine |author=Washington, Bryan |date=August 8, 2019 |title=How Many |department=Flash Fiction |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction/how-many}}
- {{cite magazine |author=Washington, Bryan |date=August 3, 2020 |title=Heirlooms |department= Fiction|magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/08/03/heirlooms |accessdate=2020-08-08 }}
- {{cite magazine |author=Washington, Bryan |date=June 14, 2021 |title=Foster |department=Fiction |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/14/foster}}
- {{cite magazine |author=Washington, Bryan |issue=July 11 & 18, 2022 |title=Arrivals |department=Fiction |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/arrivals}}
- Washington, Bryan. "Last Coffeehouse on Travis". Fiction. The New Yorker. Sep. 16, 2024.
- Washington, Bryan. "Hatagaya Lore". Fiction. The New Yorker. March 23, 2025.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:21st-century American short story writers
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:African-American short story writers
Category:African-American novelists
Category:American male novelists
Category:American male short story writers
Category:Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winners
Category:African-American LGBTQ people
Category:American LGBTQ novelists
Category:People from Katy, Texas
Category:LGBTQ people from Kentucky
Category:LGBTQ people from Texas
Category:University of Houston alumni
Category:University of New Orleans alumni
Category:21st-century African-American writers