New York State Writers Institute's video: Nana Kwame Adjei Brenyah novelist

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, breakout bestselling author and UAlbany English Department alum, is the author of the debut novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars (May 2023), the story of two top women gladiators fighting for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America’s own. Author Kiese Laymon said in advance praise, “I’ve never read satire so bruising, so brolic, so tender and really, so pitch-perfect. It’s nuts brilliant. Just read it!” Adjei-Brenyah took the literary world by storm with his first story collection, Friday Black (2018), a satirical look at what it’s like to be young and Black in America. In 2018, he was named a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree by Colson Whitehead. With generous support from the UAlbany Alumni Association. Cosponsored by the English Department’s Creative Writing Program and Young Writers Program.