Kei Miller

Kei Miller was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. He read English at the University of the West Indies, but dropped out short of graduation.Daviot Kelly, [http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130717/lead/lead4.html "A Servant Of His Pen: Dr Kei Miller - From UWI Dropout To Rex Nettleford Fellowship Awardee"], The Gleaner, 17 July 2013. However, while studying there, he befriended Mervyn Morris, who encouraged his writing.[http://www.norwichfringefestival.co.uk/16-october-mervyn-morris-poet.html Mervyn Morris biography], Norwich Fringe Festival. Afterwards, Miller began publishing widely throughout the Caribbean.

In 2004, he left for England to study for an MA in Creative Writing (The Novel) at Manchester Metropolitan University under the tutelage of poet and scholar Michael Schmidt.Claire Armitstead, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/28/kei-miller-productivity-linked-to-what-could-be-called-disability-adhd-forward-prize "Kei Miller: 'My productivity is linked to what could be called a disability{{'"}}], The Guardian, 28 September 2014. Miller later completed a PhD in English Literature at the University of Glasgow.

In 2006, Miller's first book of poetry was released, Kingdom of Empty BelliesZoe Brigley, [http://www.readysteadybook.com/BookReview.aspx?isbn=0954881125 "Kingdom of Empty Bellies by Kei Miller" (review)], Ready Steady Book, 13 April 2007. (Heaventree Press). It was shortly followed by a collection of short stories, The Fear of Stones,[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1515139.Fear_Of_Stones_And_Other_Stories "Fear Of Stones And Other Stories"] at Goodreads. which partly explores issues of Jamaican homophobia. The collection was shortlisted in 2007 for a Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the category of Best First Book (Canada or Caribbean).[http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/2007prize/Shortlist/index.cfm Shortlist 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330185359/http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/writersprize/2007prize/Shortlist/index.cfm |date=30 March 2007 }} His second collection of poetry, There Is an Anger That Moves,Sonia Hendy-Isaac, [http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record.asp?id=24204 "Review: Kei Miller – There is an Anger That Moves"], Iota 83 & 84, Spring 2009. was published in 2007 by Carcanet Press.[http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?owner_id=853 Carcanet Press – Kei Miller] He is also the editor of Carcanet's 2007 New Caribbean Poetry: An Anthology.[http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=1857549414 New Caribbean Poetry page] at Carcanet. His first novel, The Same Earth,Kevin Le Gendre, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-same-earth-by-kei-miller-828805.html "The Same Earth, By Kei Miller – The strange case of the missing polka-dot panties" (review)], The Independent on Sunday, 18 May 2008. was published in 2008, followed in 2010 by The Last Warner Woman.Adele S. Newson-Horst, [http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2012/may/last-warner-woman-kei-miller#.VH2mhjGsV7s "The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller" (review)], World Literature Today, May 2012. That same year saw the publication of his poetry collection A Light Song of Light. In 2013 his Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies was published,[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19300752-writing-down-the-vision "Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies"] at Goodreads. and in 2014 a collection of poems for which he was awarded the Forward Prize, The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion.Caroline Davies, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/30/kei-miller-wins-forward-poetry-prize "Kei Miller wins Forward poetry prize"], The Guardian, 30 September 2014.Jacob Stolworthy, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11131563/Jamaican-poet-Kei-Miller-wins-10000-Forward-Prize.html "Jamaican poet Kei Miller wins £10,000 Forward Prize"], The Telegraph, 30 September 2014. Hilary Mantel chose The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion as one of her favourite books of 2014.[http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/11/books-year-ns-friends-and-contributors-choose-their-favourite-reading-2014 "Books of the Year: NS friends and contributors choose their favourite reading of 2014"], New Statesman, 19 November 2014. This compilation includes a poem on unusual Jamaican place-names, such as Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come.Valerie Duff, [http://criticalflame.org/mapping-a-way-to-kei-millers-zion/ "Mapping Kei Miller’s Zion"], The Critical Flame, Issue 34, January–February 2015. He published a collection of essays titled Things I Have Withheld in 2021, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction.

In 2014, Miller was named as one of the 20 "Next Generation Poets", a list compiled every ten years by the Poetry Book Society.[http://poetrybooks.co.uk/projects/51/ "Next Generation Poets 2014"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205073745/http://poetrybooks.co.uk/projects/51/ |date=5 December 2014 }}, Poetry Book Society.

He was an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa, and has also been a visiting writer at York University in Canada, at the Department of Library Services in the British Virgin Islands and a Vera Rubin Fellow at Yaddo.[http://literature.britishcouncil.org/kei-miller "Writers: Kei Miller"], British Council – Literature.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/andrewmiller/#tabs=0 |title=Kei Miller, University of Glasgow School of Critical Studies |access-date=4 April 2015 |archive-date=9 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409033019/http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/andrewmiller/#tabs=0 |url-status=dead }} He currently divides his time between Jamaica and the United Kingdom. Until 2014, he was Reader at the University of Glasgow. He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Exeter.

Miller's third novel, Augustown, won the 2017 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.[https://www.bocaslitfest.com/2017/05/02/jamaican-kei-miller-wins-ocm-bocas-prize/ "Jamaican Kei Miller wins OCM Bocas Prize"], Bocas Lit Fest, 2 May 2017.

Miller was awarded the 2018 Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Arts & Letters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.caribvision.tv/caribbean-awards-celebrates-10th-ceremony-in-jamaica/|title=Caribbean Awards celebrates 10th ceremony in Jamaica|website=CaribVision|date=14 May 2018|access-date=19 August 2019}}

In June 2018, Miller was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/28/royal-society-of-literature-40-under-40-fellows|title=Royal Society of Literature admits 40 new fellows to address historical biases|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=28 June 2018|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=3 July 2018}}

Miller was a judge for the 2020 Griffin Poetry Prize.{{cite web|url=https://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/judges/2020-judges/|title=Griffin Poetry Prize - 2020 Judges|website=Griffin Poetry Prize}}

• 2007: International Writer's Fellowship at the University of Iowa
• 2009: Silver Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica[http://instituteofjamaica.org.jm/articles/49/kei-miller-young-yet-accomplished-writer-receives-2009-silver-musgrave/admin "Kei Miller, Young yet accomplished writer receives 2009 Silver Musgrave"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20141201005548/http://instituteofjamaica.org.jm/articles/49/kei-miller-young-yet-accomplished-writer-receives-2009-silver-musgrave/admin |date=1 December 2014 }}, The Institute of Jamaica.
• 2010: Shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, A Light Song of Light
• 2013: Rex Nettleford Fellow in Cultural Studies
• 2013: Shortlisted for the Phillis Wheatley Book Award in Fiction, The Last Warner Woman
• 2014: Named as one of the Next Generation Poets
• 2014: OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (Non-fiction), Writing Down the Vision{{cite web |url=https://guardian.co.tt/entertainment/2014-03-31/top-three-ocm-bocas-prize-named |title=Top three for OCM Bocas Prize named |work=T&T Guardian |author= |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=3 April 2014}}
• 2014: Shortlisted for the international Dylan Thomas Prize, The Cartographer Tries to Map A Way to Zion
• 2014: Winner of the Forward Prize for Poetry, The Cartographer Tries to Map A Way to Zion
• 2017: Winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for Augustown
• 2017: Winner of the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde for By The Rivers of Babylon (French Translation of Augustown)
• 2018: Winner of an Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence (Arts & Letters){{Cite news|url=http://newsday.co.tt/2017/12/13/just-because-foundation-is-ansa-laureate/|title=Just Because Foundation is ANSA laureate |author= Sean Douglas|date=13 December 2017|newspaper=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=16 May 2018|language=en-US}}
• 2018: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
• 2018: Winner of the [https://cene.lacenelitteraire.com/prix-litteraire-les-afriques/prix-les-afriques-2018/ Prix Les Afriques] for By The Rivers of Babylon (French Translation of Augustown)
• 2021: Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for Things I Have Withheld
• 2022: Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize for Things I Have Withheld{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-04-20 |title=Jhalak Prize 2022 shortlists announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2022/04/20/213160/shortlist-announced-for-2022-jhalak-prize-for-bame-writers/ |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=Books+Publishing |language=en-AU}}

• Fear of Stones and Other Stories (short stories), Macmillan Caribbean, 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-4050-6637-2}}.
• Kingdom of Empty Bellies (poems), Heaventree Press, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-9548811-2-2}}.
• [http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781857549454There Is an Anger That Moves], Carcanet Press, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-85754-945-4}}.
• The Same Earth (novel), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-297-84480-8}}; Phoenix, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-7538-2311-8}}.
• The Last Warner Woman (novel), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-297-86077-8}}; Phoenix, 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-7538-2808-3}}.
• A Light Song of Light (poems),[http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781847771032, "A Light Song of Light"] page at Carcanet. Carcanet Press, 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-84777-103-2}}.
• Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies, Peepal Tree Press, 2013, {{ISBN|978-1-84523-228-3}}.
• The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion (poems), Carcanet, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1-84777-267-1}}.
• Augustown (novel), Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016, {{ISBN|978-1-4746-0359-1}}
• Things I Have Withheld (essays), Canongate Books Ltd, 2021, {{ISBN|978-1-83885-279-5}}

As editor

• [http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=1857549414New Caribbean Poetry: An Anthology], Carcanet Press, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-85754-941-6}}.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?owner_id=853 Kei Miller Author Profile] at Carcanet Press
• [http://www.poetryarchive.org/poet/kei-miller Kei Miller] at The Poetry Archive.
• Kei Miller, [http://www.heraldscotland.com/when-love-turns-to-hate-br-the-darkness-that-lurks-beyond-the-tourist-compounds-of-the-caribbean-1.827307 "When love turns to hate: The darkness that lurks beyond the tourist compounds of the Caribbean"], The Glasgow Herald, 2 August 2008.
• Nicholas Laughlin, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jun/05/wallcottofsilence "The distraction of Walcott vs Naipaul"], The Guardian, 5 June 2008. An article mentioning Miller as strong performer of his work.
• [http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record.asp?id=24192 "Interview with Kei Miller"], Iota, No. 83 & 84, Spring 2009, pp. 67–70.
• Annie Paull, [http://anniepaul.net/2014/10/16/kei-miller-maps-his-way-to-zion/ "Kei Miller Maps His Way to Zion…"] (interview), 16 October 2014.
• Laura Miller, [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/22/augustown-a-novel-of-the-sacred-and-the-profane-in-jamaica {{"'}}Augustown': A Novel of the Sacred and the Profane in Jamaica"], The New Yorker, 22 May 2017.
• Erin MacLeod, [https://hazlitt.net/feature/story-keeps-repeating-itself-interview-kei-miller {{"'}}That Story Keeps on Repeating Itself': An Interview with Kei Miller"], Hazlitt, 4 October 2017.

{{OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature}}

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Category:1978 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Jamaican novelists

Category:21st-century Jamaican poets

Category:21st-century Jamaican male writers

Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University

Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow

Category:Anthologists

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature

Category:International Writing Program alumni

Category:Jamaican male novelists

Category:Jamaican male poets

Category:Writers from Kingston, Jamaica

Category:Recipients of the Musgrave Medal

Category:University of the West Indies alumni

Category:Wolmer's Schools alumni