Marlon James

Marlon James (November 24, 1970-) is Jamaican and attended Wolmer’s Trust High School for Boys. Both of his parents worked in the police force, but they also read and encouraged James to read. James attended the University of the West Indies and studied language and literature, graduating in 1991. He began writing his first novel while attending an MFA program at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. In 2007, he moved to Minneapolis and began teaching at Macalester. James still teaches at Macalester but splits his time between Minnesota and New York.

Publishers rejected John Crow’s Devil, James’ first novel, seventy times before it was accepted for publication. Since then, James has published three more novels, including the first in a series that is being dubbed the African Game of Thrones. James’ books often include themes of identity, sexuality, religion, violence, colonialism, and elements of the supernatural. Stylistically, his writing is similar to Toni Morrison, Tomi Adeyemi, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. James has won two Minnesota Book Awards for his fiction.

More information on Marlon James from the Minnesota Writers Directory.