De'Shawn Charles Winslow
{{short description|American fiction writer}}
{{Infobox writer
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| name = De'Shawn Charles Winslow
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| occupation = Writer
| nationality = American
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| genre = Fiction
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| notableworks = In West Mills
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| awards = The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, American Book Award
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| alma_mater = University of Iowa
| website = {{URL|https://deshawncharleswinslow.com}}
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De'Shawn Charles Winslow is an American novelist and the author of In West Mills, which won the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize{{cite web |title=2019 First Novel Prize |url=https://centerforfiction.org/book-recs/2019-first-novel-prize-long-list/ |publisher=The Center for Fiction |access-date=July 10, 2023}} and an American Book Award,{{cite web |last1=Saka |first1=Rasheeda |title=Here are the winners of the 2020 American Book Awards |url=https://lithub.com/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2020-american-book-awards/ |website=Literary Hub |date=14 September 2020 |access-date=July 10, 2023}} and Decent People.{{cite web |last1=Simon |first1=Scott |title=De'Shawn Charles Winslow on his new novel 'Decent People' |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/01/14/1149245252/deshawn-charles-winslow-on-his-new-novel-decent-people |publisher=NPR |access-date=July 10, 2023}}
Literary career
Winslow attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop.{{cite web |last1=Heredia |first1=Alejandro |title=THE PEN TEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH DE'SHAWN CHARLES WINSLOW |date=23 February 2023 |url=https://pen.org/the-pen-ten-an-interview-with-deshawn-charles-winslow/ |publisher=PEN.org |access-date=July 10, 2023}} His debut novel, In West Mills, was published by Bloomsbury in 2019.
The New York Times Book Review gave it a rave review:
From the first page, Winslow establishes an uncanny authority and profound tone that belie the book’s debut status. The precision and charm of his language lure us in and soothe us ... He paints a community so tightknit and thorough it becomes easy to forget the people in it don’t exist.{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Margaret Wilkerson |title=The Legacy of Slavery in Two Novels of the American South |url=https://nyti.ms/2WUtoOG |website=The New York Times Book Review |date=20 June 2019 |access-date=July 10, 2023}}
The Boston Globe called it a "quietly glorious novel" that "engages on a level that’s appropriately intimate."{{cite web |last1=Steffens |first1=Daneet |title='In West Mills' a view of a small town from a big talent |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2019/06/20/west-mills-view-small-town-from-big-talent/cHhOAOt8bmRD8z7mG9RBNP/story.html |website=The Boston Globe |access-date=July 10, 2023}} The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described it as an "enchanting debut novel," writing that it is "a refreshing and arresting book that shines a light on a woman who rebels against society’s strict and unforgiving social norms, despite the costs."{{cite news |last1=Enjeti |first1=Anjali |title='In West Mills' unspools long-held secrets in rural North Carolina |url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/books--literature/west-mills-unspools-long-held-secrets-rural-north-carolina/6YW0yUdS27BU4SJyqclQwN/ |website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=July 10, 2023}}
Winslow's second novel, Decent People, was released in 2023. The Washington Post wrote: "Watching Winslow subvert the conventions of an old literary form is half the thrill of this novel. After all, the shelf of mystery detectives is hardly crowded with 60-year-old Black women. And that’s not the only cozy convention Winslow toys with."{{cite news |last1=Charles |first1=Ron |title=Indecent secrets lurk in De'Shawn Charles Winslow's 'Decent People' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/01/23/deshawn-charles-winslow-decent-people-review/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 10, 2023}}
Publications
- In West Mills (Bloomsbury, 2019)
- Decent People (Bloomsbury, 2023)
References
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Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:American fiction writers
Category:American male novelists
Category:Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni