Percival Everett

Percival Everett (born December 22, 1956, at Fort Gordon, Georgia) is an American novelist and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He studied philosophy at the University of Miami and went on to receive a master’s degree from Brown University, where he wrote his first novel, Suder (1983). Everett has authored more than thirty books of fiction and poetry, and his work is widely noted for its formal range, philosophical engagement, and exploration of race and identity.

His acclaimed novels include Erasure (2001), I Am Not Sidney Poitier (2009), The Trees (2021), Dr. No (2022), Telephone (2020), and James: A Novel (2024), a retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective. James has received major recognition, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award, the Kirkus Prize for Fiction, and shortlistings for honors such as the Booker Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award. Everett’s work has also been honored with awards including the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature