Angela Flournoy
Angela Flournoy | |
|---|---|
 Flournoy at the 2016 Texas Book Festival | |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California Iowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa |
| Notable works | The Turner House (2015) The Wilderness (2025) |
| Notable awards | First Novelist Award 5 Under 35 Honoree |
| Website | |
| www | |
Angela Flournoy is an American writer. Her debut novel, The Turner House, won the First Novelist Award and was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction.[1][2] It was shortlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and named a New York Times Notable Book of 2015.[3][4][5] She was also named a National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Honoree in 2015, nominated by her former teacher ZZ Packer.[4][6]
Early life and education
[edit]Flournoy was raised in Southern California. Her mother was from Los Angeles and father from Detroit.[6] Flournoy attended the University of Southern California, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa.[6][7] She started developing her first novel, The Turner House, while attending the Iowa Workshop, where she frequently traveled to Detroit to visit her father's family.[4][8]
Career
[edit]After graduating, Flournoy taught writing for the University of Iowa, Trinity Washington University, and the DC Public Library.[6][9] She published The Turner House in 2015.[10] The New York Times called it "an engrossing and remarkably mature first novel...assured and memorable."[11] BuzzFeed describes Flournoy as "the most lauded debut novelist in America," noting her many awards and honors, as well as The Turner House's strong sales: "According to Bookscan, which tracks around 70% of U.S. book sales, her book has sold over 15,000 copies in paperback and hardcover as of April [2016]; anything over 10,000 is generally considered high for literary fiction."[7]
In 2020, she was scheduled to go on a State Department-sponsored reading tour of Germany. Flournoy canceled at short notice amid tensions with Iran and published a justification in The New Yorker.[12]
Flournoy attributes her understanding of character development to Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men.[13]
The Wilderness was longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award.[14] It was a finalist for the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2025 Kirkus Prize for Fiction.[15][16]
Works
[edit]- Flournoy, Angela (2015). The Turner House. Boston New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-30316-4.[17][18]
- Flournoy, Angela (2025). The Wilderness. New York: Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0-06-331877-9.[19][20][21][22]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Angela Flournoy wins VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 'The Turner House'". richmond.com. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ "National Book Award 2015 Winners". nationalbook.org. Retrieved 2026-05-25.
- ↑ Ho, Jean (August 9, 2016). "Diversity In Book Publishing Isn't Just About Writers — Marketing Matters, Too". NPR. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- 1 2 3 Vitcavage, Adam (October 27, 2005). "The Tortoise, Not the Hare: The Millions Interviews Angela Flournoy". The Millions. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ↑ Philyaw, Deesha (February 13, 2016). "The Saturday Rumpus Interview: Angela Flournoy". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "2015: Discover the 5 Under 35 Honorees". National Book Foundation.Recovered 2026-05-05.
- 1 2 Shafrir, Doree (April 25, 2016). "Why America Is Ready For Novelist Angela Flournoy". BuzzFeed. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ↑ "The Risks Angela Flournoy Took". The Seam. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
- ↑ "Angela Flournoy". The Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
- ↑ Zoe Zolbrod (June 18, 2015). ""There Aint No Haints in Detroit!": An Interview With Author Angela Flournoy". Belt Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
- ↑ Thomas, Matthew (April 29, 2015). "'The Turner House,' by Angela Flournoy". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ↑ Flournoy, Angela (24 January 2020). "The Difficulty of Being a Cultural Ambassador in 2020". The New Yorker.
- ↑ Fassler, Joe (September 1, 2015). "Subverting the Rule of 'Write What You Know'". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
- ↑ "The Wilderness". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ "The National Book Critics Circle Awards 2025". bookreporter.com.Retrieved 2026-05-05.
- ↑ "Finalists for the 2025 Kirkus Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-07-03.
- ↑ Thomas, Matthew (2015-04-29). "'The Turner House,' by Angela Flournoy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ "'The Turner House' – a magnificent, unsentimental debut – visits the struggles of Detroit through one family's history". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ Summers, Juana (2025-09-16). "Author Angela Flournoy explores 20 years of adult friendship in 'The Wilderness'". NPR. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ Orr, Niela (2025-09-16). "Book Review: 'The Wilderness,' by Angela Flournoy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ "The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy". www.publishersweekly.com. May 23, 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ "Why Angela Flournoy Writes About Friendship and Grief". Alta Online. 2025-09-22. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
External links
[edit]
- 21st-century American novelists
- African-American novelists
- Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
- University of Southern California alumni
- Trinity Washington University faculty
- University of Iowa faculty
- Living people
- Novelists from Iowa
- 21st-century American women academics
- 21st-century American women novelists
- 21st-century American academics
- 21st-century African-American women writers
- 21st-century African-American writers