Dexter Gabriel (born 1971), better known by his pen name Phenderson Djèlí Clark, is an American

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

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. His

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

"Djèlí", makes reference to the griots – traditional

Western African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurita ...

storytellers, historians and poets. In 2022, his fantasy novel ''

A Master of Djinn ''A Master of Djinn'' is a 2021 fantasy steampunk novel by American writer P. Djèlí Clark, published by Tordotcom. The book is part of Clark's the Dead Djinn Universe and follows the events of the novelette "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", and the novel ...

'' won the

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

and Locus Awards. He has also won awards for his short fiction, including the

, Locus and British Fantasy Awards for the novella '' Ring Shout'' in 2021.

Life and career

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. At age eight, he returned to the US and lived in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and Brooklyn before moving to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, when he was 12. 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 Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

. Gabriel is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Connecticut. In 2011, Gabriel began publishing short stories variously as P. Djèlí Clark, Djèlí A. Clark, Phenderson Djèlí Clark, and A. Phenderson Clark. 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. He chose to use a

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''. 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 ''

'' – are set in the same world, an alternate-universe Egypt. They are collectively titled the ''Ministry of Alchemy'' series or the ''Dead Djinn Universe''.

Literary recognition

Novels

Novellas

Short stories

Partial bibliography

''Dead Djinn Universe''

*"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. *''

'' (novel), Tordotcom, 2021.

Other works

*" The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" (short story), ''Fireside Fiction'', 2018 *''The Black God's Drums'' (novella), ''Tor.com'', 2018. *'' Ring Shout'' (novella), Tordotcom, 2020. * "If the Martians Have Magic" (short story), ''

Uncanny Magazine ''Uncanny Magazine'' is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois. Its mascot is a space unicorn. The editors-in-chief, who originally ...

'', 2021.

Notes

References

External links

*
Official siteFaculty page
at the University of Connecticut
''A Dead Djinn in Cairo''
at ''Tor.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, P. Djèlí University of Connecticut faculty Living people Nebula Award winners 21st-century American historians American science fiction writers Black speculative fiction authors 1971 births American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Texas State University alumni Stony Brook University alumni 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from New York City Historians from New York (state) 21st-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers 21st-century American short story writers