Order of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Books

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is an American author who is best known for his book, Friday Black. His work has appeared in numerous publications as well, including Guernica, Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing, Printer’s Row, Gravel, and The Breakwater Review.

His writing in The Blackwater Review was selected by ZZ Packer as the winner of the 2nd Annual Breakwater Review Fiction Contest. Adjei-Brenyah is from Spring Valley, New York and attended college at SUNY Albany. He would then go to get his MFA from Syracuse University and he would alter become the Olive B. O’Connor fellow in fiction at Colgate University. His first book,Friday Black was highly decorated in it’s debut. It was selected by the National Book Foundation as a “5 Under 35” honoree. The book was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award for Best First Book, and won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

If You Like Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Books, You’ll Love…

• Roxanne Gay
• Jennifer Egan
• Zadie Smith

Friday Black is Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s first book and it tells stories that tackle racism and cultural unrest in the world, and the ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world. The book tells of the all too real violence, injustice, and other painful absurdities that black people have to deal with on a daily basis in the United States. The book tells multiple stories. One is “Finkelstein Five” which is a brutal telling of the inherent racism that is present in the justice system. He also has “Zimmer Land” which views racism as a sport that feels a bit to easy to believe. Then there is “Friday Black”, where the book get its title, which really makes you look at some of the silly things we spend money on during the holiday season. A stunning debut.