Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Kiese attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University before graduating from Oberlin College. He earned an MFA in Fiction from Indiana University, and is currently a professor of English and African American Studies at the University of Mississippi, and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Nonfiction at the University of Iowa.
Kiese is the author of the novel, "Long Division," and a collection of essays, "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America." He has written essays, stories, and reviews for numerous publications, including
Esquire, McSweeneys, The New York Times, ESPN the Magazine, Colorlines, NPR, LitHub, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, PEN Journal, Fader, Oxford American, The Best American Series, Ebony, and Guernica. He is a contributing editor to
Oxford American. "Long Division" was named one of the "Best of 2013" by
Buzzfeed, The Believer, Salon, Guernica, Contemporary Literature, Mosaic Magazine, Library Journal, Chicago Tribune, and the Crunk Feminist Collective. It was also short-listed for the Believer Book Award, the Ernest Gaines Award, and the Morning News Tournament of Books.
"Long Division" won the 2014 Saroyan International Writing Award. Three essays in
"How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" have been included in the Best American series, the Best of Net Award, and
The Atlantic's Best Essays of 2013. Kiese was selected a member of the Root 100 in 2013 and 2014 and
Ebony Magazine Power 100 in 2015. He has two books forthcoming, including a memoir called "Heavy" and a novel called "And So On," both from Scribner.