Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is an American speculative fiction author who wrote the short-story collection Friday Black and the novel Chain-Gang All-Stars (2023). He was named a "5 under 35 Honoree" by the National Book Foundation in 2018 and won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award in 2019. Chain-Gang All-Stars was shortlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction and named one of the "10 Best Books of 2023" by The New York Times. In 2025, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Early life and education Adjei-Brenyah was born in Queens, New York City, but grew up in Spring Valley, New York. Both of his parents are from Ghana. His father was a defense attorney and his mother was a kindergarten teacher.

In 2026, Adjei-Brenyah became the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary Letters at the College of the Holy Cross.

Friday Black

Adjei-Brenyah's debut book is a collection of 12 satirical short stories exploring many topics, including racism in modern-day America, consumerism, school shootings, and generational violence. The book has a large cast and is written from the perspective of multiple people participating in the program, as well as activists fighting against it, fans, and the people running it.

Chain-Gang All-Stars started as a short story for inclusion in Friday Black but became too long. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and chose the novel as one of the best books of 2023. The New York Times named it one of the 10 best books of 2023.

Awards and nominations

Publications