Zinzi Clemmons was raised in Philadelphia by a South African mother and an American father. Her book, What We Lose, was named “Debut Novel of the Year” by Vogue, and received praise from The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and others. What We Lose was a finalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, the California Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Leonard Prize. She is a 2017 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. She wrote the foreword to a new edition of Jean Toomer’s Cane, forthcoming from Penguin Classics in 2019. She currently serves as associate editor for The Believer magazine, and as writer in residence at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Photo Credit: Nina Subin