Overview
As well as being a poet and writer, I am also a teacher of creative writing at Pacific University and Northwestern University. My approach to working with new writers is to ask a lot of questions, establish what the writer is reaching for, and then provide constructive (if sometimes challenging) feedback to achieve that. My process is completely collaborative and ensures that not only will your book be better at the end, you will also be a better writer.I have editorially ushered ten books into the world under my own imprint and helped over 40 more under the African Poetry Book Fund. Privately, and in my academic teaching, I have mentored at least 20 more titles into publication. That is over 70 titles; no mean feat.
Services
Fiction
African American Fiction
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Poetry
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Awards
- PEN Hemingway Prize
- Guggenheim
- PEN Freedom to Write Award
- PEN Beyond the Margins Award
- Lannan Literary Fellowship
- Hurston Wright Legacy Award
- Edgar Prize
- Member American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Certifications
- PhD Creative Writing and Literature
- MA Gender and Politics
- MA English
Work experience
Pacific University MFA Program
Jan, 2015 —
Present
I teach graduate students to develop their writing and provide semester long mentoring and editorial work for 5 students .
Northwestern University
Jan, 2013 —
Present
I teach creative writing and literature classes. I edit student work, full length manuscripts etc.
Self-employed
Jan, 2012 —
Present
I work with other editors, and Kwame Dawes, to edit and put out full length poetry books under our imprint. I also co-edit and publish (with Kwame Dawes) a box-set of ten chapbooks of poetry each year.
Portfolio
Graceland is a dazzling debut by a singular new talentThe sprawling, swampy, cacophonous city of Lagos, Nigeria, provides the backdrop to the story of Elvis, a teenage Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out of the ghetto. Broke, beset by floods, and bea... read more
Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book. West Africa enters the Noir Ser... read more
“Chris Abani’s poetry resonates with a devastating beauty which cuts through to the heart of human strength.”—Pride Hands Washing Water is Chris Abani's fourth poetry collection—a mischievous book of displacement, exile, ancestry, and subversive humor. The cen... read more
“Abani . . . explores place and humor, exile and freedom with poems of experience and imagination . . . [he] enters the wound with a boldness that avoids nothing. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal“Stunning poems.” —New HumanistA self-described “zealot of o... read more
"Compelling and gorgeously written, this is a coming-of-age novella like no other. Chris Abani explores the depths of loss and exploitation with what can only be described as a knowing tenderness. An extraordinary, necessary book."Cristina Garcia, author of D... read more
A gritty, riveting, and wholly original murder mystery from PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author and 2015 Edgar Awards winner Chris Abani Before he can retire, Las Vegas detective Salazar is determined to solve a recent spate of murders. When he encounters a pai... read more
"Not since Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird or Agota Kristof’s Notebook Trilogy has there been such a harrowing novel about what it’s like to be a young person in a war. That Chris Abani is able to find humanity, mercy, and even, yes, forgiveness, amid such d... read more
“A fascinating meditation on identity that explores the novelist’s own mixed heritage and mixed feelings….A true citizen of the world….With great insight and compassion, Abani reveals that behind his—and every—face are unseen scars.” —San Francisco ChronicleIn... read more
Everett’s talent is multifaceted, sparked by a satiric brilliance that could place him alongside Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison.”Publishers WeeklyI think Percival Everett is a genius. . . . He’s a brilliant writer and so damn smart I envy him.”Terry McMi... read more
"Khadijah Queen is a poet with stunning intellectual powers. It's a worthwhile experience to spend such quality time in an inaugural book of poems." --Eloise Klein Healy, former Poet Laureate of Los Angeles"CONDUIT, Khadijah Queen's debut collection, is itself... read more
"[A] brave and moving tribute to a brother gone astray; with skill, unflinching honesty, and redemptive compassion, Cristina García tracks his marvelous, complex, and errant life. . . . These poems are the beautiful, painful, astonishing result of a journey to... read more
"Edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani, the yearly poetry chapbook set is a delightful combination of emerging African poets. This year's collection is no less ambitious in its scope: Nne introduces poets of a singular talent, exploring themes of belonging, qu... read more
"The chapbooks gathered here are almost overflowing with voice....Each of these chapbooks is so worthy of praise and attention that it is not possible to do them justice in the space afforded this review. They deserve, and hopefully will receive, the specific ... read more
"New-Generation African Poets is an ambitious, vital project that delivers exactly what it promises...As a group, the chapbooks dispel stereotypes about African writing. They also illustrate what editors Dawes and Abani note about the many ways poets can under... read more
"[This collection] continues the African Poetry Book Fund project to identify the best poetry by African poets working today and ensure their publication. This 12-piece, limited-edition box set features the work of 11 new poets."--Publishers Weekly, Spring 201... read more
Chris has 2 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Blayne D.
Aug, 2018
Joel T.
Jun, 2018
