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P. Djèlí Clark

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P. Djèlí Clark
BornDexter Gabriel
1971 (age 53–54)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Pen namePhenderson Djèlí Clark
OccupationWriter, historian
NationalityAmerican
EducationTexas State University (BA, MA)
Stony Brook University (Ph.D)
Period2011–present
GenreFantasy, science fiction
Notable works
Academic background
ThesisA West Indian Jubilee in America: British Emancipation and the American Abolition Movement (2016)
Doctoral advisorApril Masten
Academic work
DisciplineAfrican American History
InstitutionsUniversity of Connecticut
Website
pdjeliclark.com

Dexter Gabriel (born 1971), better known by his pen name Phenderson Djèlí Clark, is an American speculative fiction writer and historian, who is an assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Connecticut. He uses a pen name to differentiate his literary work from his academic work, and has also published under the name A. Phenderson Clark. This pen name, "Djèlí", makes reference to the griots – traditional Western African storytellers, historians and poets.

In 2022, his fantasy novel A Master of Djinn won the Nebula and Locus Awards. He has also won awards for his short fiction, including the Nebula, Locus and British Fantasy Awards for the novella Ring Shout in 2021.

Life and career

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Dexter Gabriel was born in New York City in 1971, but spent most of his early years living in his parents' original home of Trinidad and Tobago.[1][2] At age eight, he returned to the United States and lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn before moving to Houston, when he was 12.[3][1] Gabriel went to college at Texas State University, San Marcos, earning a B.A. and then an M.A. in history. He then earned a doctorate in history from Stony Brook University. Gabriel is currently assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Connecticut.[4]

In 2011, Gabriel began publishing short stories variously as P. Djèlí Clark, Djèlí A. Clark, Phenderson Djèlí Clark, and A. Phenderson Clark.[2] Phenderson was his grandfather's name, while Clark was his mother's maiden name; Djèlí refers to West African storytellers, known in French as griots.[1][5] He chose to use a pen name in order to separate his academic and literary work. In 2016, Clark sold his first major work, a novelette titled "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", to Tor.com.[1]

Since then, he has published novellas, short stories, and a novel. Four of his works – "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili", The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and A Master of Djinn – are set in the same world, an alternate-universe Egypt. They are collectively titled the Ministry of Alchemy series[2] or the Dead Djinn Universe.[6]

He has been announced as Guest of Honour at the 2027 Eastercon[7] and was a Guest of Honor at Readercon 2025.[8]

Awards

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2018 The Black God's Drums Nebula Award Best Novella Finalist [9]
"The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" Nebula Award Short Story Won [9]
2019 The Black God's Drums Alex Award — Won [10]
Crawford Award — Shortlisted [11]
Hugo Award Best Novella Finalist [12]
Locus Award Best Novella Finalist [13]
World Fantasy Award Novella Finalist [14]
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 Nebula Award Best Novella Finalist [15]
"The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" Hugo Award Short Story Finalist [12]
Locus Award Best Short Story Won [16]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Shortlisted [17]
2020 The Haunting of Tram Car 015 Hugo Award Best Novella Finalist [18]
Ignyte Award Best Novella Finalist [19]
Locus Award Best Novella Finalist [20]
Mythopoeic Award Adult Literature Finalist [21]
Ring Shout Goodreads Choice Awards Horror Finalist—15th [22]
Nebula Award Best Novella Won [23]
Shirley Jackson Award Novella Finalist [24]
2021 A Master of Djinn Dragon Award Best Alternate History Novel Nominated [25]
Goodreads Choice Awards Fantasy Finalist [26]
Nebula Award Best Novel Won [27]
Ring Shout British Fantasy Award Best Novella Won [28]
Hugo Award Best Novella Finalist [18]
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Fiction Nominated [29]
Ignyte Award Best Novella Finalist [30]
Locus Award Best Novella Won [31]
RUSA Codes Reading List Fantasy Shortlisted [32]
World Fantasy Award Novella Finalist— [33]
2022 A Master of Djinn Compton Crook Award — Won [34]
Hugo Award Best Novel Finalist [35]
Ignyte Award Best Novel Won [36]
Locus Award Best First Novel Won [37]
Mythopoeic Award Adult Literature Finalist [38]
RUSA CODES Reading List Fantasy Won [32]
World Fantasy Award Novel Finalist [39]
If the Martians Have Magic Ignyte Award Best Short Story Won [36]
Locus Award Best Short Story Finalist [37]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Finalist [40]
World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Finalist [39]
2023 "How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" BSFA Award Short Fiction Won [41]
2024 Abeni's Song Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book — Finalist [42]
Ignyte Award Best Middle Grade Book Won [43]
"How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" Hugo Award Short Story Finalist [42]
Locus Award Best Short Story Won [44]
World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Finalist [45]
"What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata" Locus Award Best Novelette Finalist [44]
2025 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins Locus Award Best Novella Finalist [46]
A Master of Djinn Seiun Award Best Translated Novel Pending [47]

Partial bibliography

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Dead Djinn Universe

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  • "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" (novelette), Tor.com, 2016.
  • "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili" (short story), Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt, ed. Matthew Bright, Twopenny Books, 2017.
  • The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (novella), Tor.com, 2019.
  • A Master of Djinn (novel), Tordotcom, 2021.

For young readers

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Standalone novellas

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Other works

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As Dexter Gabriel

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Phenderson Djèlí Clark: Wonderful Things to Behold". Locus Magazine. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Clute, John (May 23, 2022). "Clark, Phenderson Djèlí". In Clute, John; Langford, David (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.). Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. ^ Maxwell, Daryl (October 2, 2018). "Interview With an Author: P. Djèlí Clark". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Dexter Gabriel | Department of History". University of Connecticut. August 15, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Fortier, Ron. "Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Mayer, Petra (August 18, 2021). "The 50 best science fiction and fantasy books of the past decade". NPR.
  7. ^ "Unconfined: Guests of Honour".
  8. ^ "Readercon 34 Guests of Honor | Readercon Web Services". Readercon. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "2018 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 18, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  10. ^ "2019 Youth Media Award Winners". American Libraries. January 28, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  11. ^ "Kuang Wins Crawford Award". Locus. February 1, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "2019 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. August 18, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  13. ^ "2019 Locus Awards Finalists". Locus. May 7, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  14. ^ "2019 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. November 3, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  15. ^ "2019 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 30, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  16. ^ "2019 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Magazine. June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  17. ^ "2019 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. March 5, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus. December 18, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  19. ^ "2020 Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. October 18, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  20. ^ "2020 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  21. ^ "2020 Mythopoeic Awards Winners". Locus. February 15, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  22. ^ "Readers' Favorite Horror". Goodreads. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  23. ^ "2020 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  24. ^ "2020 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Locus. August 15, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  25. ^ "2021 Dragon Awards Winners". Locus. September 7, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  26. ^ "Readers' Favorite Fantasy 2021". Goodreads. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  27. ^ "2021 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 21, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  28. ^ "2021 British Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. September 27, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  29. ^ "ANNOUNCING THE 2021 HURSTON/WRIGHT FOUNDATION LEGACY AWARDS NOMINEES". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  30. ^ Molly Templeton (September 20, 2021). "Announcing the 2021 Ignyte Awards Winners!". Reactor. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  31. ^ "2021 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 26, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  32. ^ a b "The Reading List". RUSA Update. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  33. ^ "2021 World Fantasy Award Winners". Locus. November 7, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  34. ^ "Clark Wins 2022 Compton Crook Award". Locus. April 12, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  35. ^ "2022 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Winners". Locus. September 4, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  36. ^ a b "2022 Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. September 19, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  37. ^ a b "2022 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  38. ^ "2022 Mythopoeic Awards Winners". Locus. August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  39. ^ a b "2022 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. November 6, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  40. ^ "2022 Sturgeon Award Finalists". Locus. May 13, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  41. ^ "2023 BSFA Awards Winners". Locus. April 3, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  42. ^ a b "2024 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. February 4, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  43. ^ "2024 Ignyte Award Winners". Locus. November 8, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  44. ^ a b "2024 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  45. ^ "2024 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. October 20, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  46. ^ "2025 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 21, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  47. ^ "2025 Seiun Awards Nominees". Locus. May 15, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
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