Caryl Phillips
born 1958, St. Kitts, West Indies
website: www.carylphillips.com
Education
B.A. (Honours) The Queens College, Oxford University (1979)
Honorary Degrees
- Hon. D. Univ: Leeds Metropolitan University (1997)
- Hon. D. Univ: University of York (2003)
- Hon. D. Lett: University of Leeds (2003)
- Hon. D. Lett: University of the West Indies (2010)
- Hon. D. Lett: University of Edinburgh (2012)
- Docteur Honoris Causa: University of Liege, Belgium (2015)
Fellowships
- 2011: Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts
- 2006: Honorary Fellow, The Queen's College, Oxford University
- 2000: Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- 1992: Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
- 1984: The British Council Fiftieth Anniversary Fellowship
Publications
Fiction
- A VIEW OF THE EMPIRE AT SUNSET (2018)
- Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. USA
- Random House/Vintage. UK
- THE LOST CHILD (2015)
- Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. USA
- Oneworld. UK
- IN THE FALLING SNOW (2009)
- Harvill Secker. UK
- Knopf. USA
- DANCING IN THE DARK (2005)
- Secker and Warburg. UK
- Knopf. USA
- A DISTANT SHORE (2003)
- Secker and Warburg. UK
- Knopf. USA
- THE NATURE OF BLOOD (1997)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Knopf. USA
- CROSSING THE RIVER (1993)
- Bloomsbury. UK
- Knopf. USA (1994)
- CAMBRIDGE (1991)
- Bloomsbury. UK
- Knopf. USA (1992)
- HIGHER GROUND (1989)
- Viking. UK
- Viking. USA
- A STATE OF INDEPENDENCE (1986)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux. USA
- THE FINAL PASSAGE (1985)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Penguin. USA
Non fiction
- COLOUR ME ENGLISH (2011)
- Harvill Secker. UK
- The New Press. USA
- FOREIGNERS (2007)
- Harvill Secker. UK
- Knopf. USA
- A NEW WORLD ORDER (2001)
- Secker and Warburg. UK
- Vintage. USA
- THE ATLANTIC SOUND (2000)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Knopf. USA
- THE EUROPEAN TRIBE (1987)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux. USA
Anthologies
- THE RIGHT SET: A TENNIS ANTHOLOGY (1999) [Editor]
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Vintage. USA
- EXTRAVAGANT STRANGERS: A LITERATURE OF BELONGING (1997) [Editor]
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Vintage. USA
Plays
- ROUGH CROSSINGS (2007)
- Oberon Books. UK
- THE SHELTER (1984)
- Amber Lane Press. UK
- WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS (1982)
- Amber Lane Press. UK
- STRANGE FRUIT (1981)
- Amber Lane Press. UK
Radio Plays
- THE WASTED YEARS (1985) [In Best Radio Plays of 1984]
- Methuen. UK
Film
- THE MYSTIC MASSEUR
- Essays and Excerpts from the Screenplay (2001)
- Trinidad: Paria Publishing Company for Merchant Ivory Productions, 2001
- PLAYING AWAY (1987)
- Faber and Faber. UK
- Faber Inc. USA
Translation
Fiction and non–fiction translated into FRENCH, SWEDISH, DUTCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, LATVIAN, PORTUGESE, SPANISH, POLISH, GREEK, FINNISH, JAPANESE, TURKISH and KOREAN.
Works Performed
Stage Premieres
- ROUGH CROSSINGS
- Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 2007.
- Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London, 2007.
- Liverpool Playhouse, 2007.
- West Yorkshire Playhouse, 2007.
- THE SHELTER
- Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London. 1983. (Subsequent productions in Birmingham, England; New York; Montreal; Paris and Accra, Ghana)
- WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS
- Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London. 1982.
- STRANGE FRUIT
- The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. 1980 (Subsequent productions in London and Liverpool)
Film
- THE MYSTIC MASSEUR
- Merchant Ivory Productions, 2001
- PLAYING AWAY
- Film on 4, 1986
Television
Drama
- THE FINAL PASSAGE (2 x 90" films) Channel 4, 1996
- THE RECORD Channel 4, 1985
- LOST IN MUSIC BBC, 1984
- THE HOPE AND THE GLORY BBC, 1984
Documentaries – written and presented
- PROFILE: CHINUA ACHEBE – BBC4, 2003
- SOUTH BANK SHOW: CARYL PHILLIPS – ITV, April 2003
- DARKER THAN BLUE: CURTIS MAYFIELD BBC, 1995
- BOOKMARK (An interview with James Baldwin at 60) BBC, 1984
- BLACK ON BLACK (Ira Aldridge, the nineteenth century actor) LWT, 1983
- WELCOME TO BIRMINGHAM (USA), Central TV, 1983
Radio
Drama
- SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND BBC Radio 4, 2016
- DINNER IN THE VILLAGE BBC Radio 4, 2011
- A LONG WAY FROM HOME BBC Radio 3, 2008
- HOTEL CRISTOBEL BBC Radio 3, 2005
- A KIND OF HOME: JAMES BALDWIN AT 60 BBC Radio 4, 2004
- WRITING FICTION BBC Radio 4, 1991
- THE PRINCE OF AFRICA BBC Radio 3, 1987
- CROSSING THE RIVER BBC Radio 3, 1985
- THE WASTED YEARS BBC Radio 4, 1984
Documentaries – written and presented
- BOOK OF THE WEEK: THE 9/11 LETTERS BBC Radio 4, September 5, 2011
- I TOO AM AMERICA: SLAVERY IN NEW YORK CITY BBC Radio 4, April 24, 2004
- MARTIN LUTHER KING: 'I HAVE A DREAM' SPEECH (15–min talk) BBC Radio 4, August 2003
- FIFTY YEARS OF WEST INDIAN MIGRATION (5–min talk) BBC Radio 4,Today Programme, June 13, 1998.
- EXTRAVAGANT STRANGERS (5 x 25–min programmes: Interviews with William Boyd, Romesh Gunesekera,Linton Kwesi Johnson, Doris Lessing, Penelope Lively) BBC Radio 3, May 1997
- THESE ISLANDS NOW: TRANSFORMATIONS IN BRITISH CULTURE ('Extravagant Strangers: The "Other" Voice in English Literature') BBC Radio 3, 1995
- THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA (6 x 30–min programmes: Interviews with Ron Brown, Jonnie Cochran, John Hope Franklin, David Levering Lewis, Rosa Parks, Paul Robeson Jr.) BBC Radio 4, 1995
- NO COMPLAINTS – JAMES BALDWIN AT 60 BBC Radio 4, 1985
- SPORT AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY BBC Radio 4, 1984
- ST. KITTS INDEPENDENCE (PRIDE OF PLACE) BBC Radio 4, 1983
Awards
- 2016: Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Finalist in Fiction for THE LOST CHILD
- 2013: Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence
- 2007: Essence Literary Award Finalist for FOREIGNERS
- 2006: PEN/Open Book Award for DANCING IN THE DARK
- 2004: Caribbean American Heritage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature
- 2004: Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Finalist in Fiction for A DISTANT SHORE
- 2004: Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book for A DISTANT SHORE
- 2004: Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction Finalist for A DISTANT SHORE
- 2004: National Book Circle Critics Finalist in Fiction for A DISTANT SHORE
- 2003: The Booker Prize longlist for A DISTANT SHORE
- 2002: Mar Del Plata Film Festival, Argentina Silver Ombu for Best Screenplay THE MYSTIC MASSEUR
- 1999: The University of the West Indies Humanities Scholar of the Year
- 1994: Lannan Literary Award
- 1994: James Tait Black Memorial Prize for CROSSING THE RIVER
- 1994: Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency
- 1993: The Booker Prize shortlist for CROSSING THE RIVER
- 1992: The (London) Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year for CAMBRIDGE
- 1987: The Martin Luther King Memorial Prize for THE EUROPEAN TRIBE
- 1985: Malcolm X Prize for Literature for THE FINAL PASSAGE
- 1984: BBC Giles Cooper Award "Best Radio Play of the Year" for THE WASTED YEARS
- 1984: Arts Council of Great Britain Bursary in Drama
Positions Held
- 2017 – present: Patron of Chapeltown Arts, Leeds, UK
- 2017 – present: Advisory Board, Cross/Cultures series, Brill Publishers, Netherlands
- 2016 – present: Patron – The Leeds Library, Leeds, U.K.
- 2012 – present: Founding Patron of the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA)
- 2011 – present: Advisory Board of SMALL AXE, New York
- 2007: Writer in Residence, Het Beschrijf, Brussels, Belgium
- 2005 – 2009: Vice President, North American Network of Cities of Asylum
- 2003 – present: Advisory Board of BELGIAN JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURES
- 2002 – 03: Mel and Lois Tukman Fellow of the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers
- 2002 – present: Senior Adviser – Literature, The British Council, London
- 1996: Series Editor, FABER AND FABER, London
- 1996: Co–Producer, THE FINAL PASSAGE, Channel 4
- 1995 – present: Advisory Editor, JOURNAL OF POSTCOLONIAL WRITING, England
- 1995 – present: Advisory Editor, WASIFIRI MAGAZINE, London
- 1994: Director, HEARTLAND PRODUCTIONS LTD. [until 2000]
- 1994 – present: Consultant Editor, GRAYWOLF PRESS, Minneapolis
- 1993 – present: Contributing Editor, BOMB MAGAZINE, New York
- 1992: Consultant Editor, FABER INC. Boston [until 1994]
- 1989 – present: Board Member, THE CARIBBEAN WRITER, St. Croix, USVI
- 1988 – present: Honorary Senior Member, THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT, England
- 1985: Board Member, THE BUSH THEATRE, London [until 1989]
- 1985: Member of THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE Production Board [until 1988]
- 1982: Member of THE ARTS COUNCIL OF GREAT BRITAIN DRAMA PANEL [until 1985]
Major Conferences and Festivals
- 2018: UEA Literary Fesitval, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- 2018: BOZAR: Brussels, Belgium [Keynote Speaker]
- 2018: Jean Rhys: Transmission Lines, Sorbonne University, Paris, France [Guest Speaker]
- 2018: Britain in the World: Day Symposium on the Writings of Caryl Phillips, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- 2018: British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, Savannah, GA [Keynote Speaker]
- 2018: Key West Literary Seminar, Key West, FL
- 2017: Black Arts International: Temporalities & Territories, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
- 2017: Wells Fargo Distinguished Lecture Series, CLAW: The Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
- 2017: Inhabiting the voids of History: A conference on Caryl Phillips, Caen, France
- 2017: Susan Manning Lecture, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- 2017: Petrou Lecture, University of Maryland, MD
- 2017: Forming Black Britain: Aesthetics, Itineraries, Diasporas, University of Maryland, MD [Keynote Speaker]
- 2017: Illuminating Lives: The Biographical Impulse in Postcolonial Literatures, University of Liege, Belgium [Keynote Speaker]
- 2016: The Folio Academy Sessions, The British Library, London, UK [Curator]
- 2016: Oluwale Now, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK [Keynote Speaker]
- 2016: The Caribbean Imaginary Lecture Series, New York University, NY
- 2016: The Durst Distinguished Lecture, SUNY Purchase College, Purchase, NY
- 2015: Literary Leicester Festival, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- 2015: International Festival of Authors, Toronto, Canada
- 2015: Forty Years After: Chinua Achebe and Africa in the Global Imagination, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
- 2015: Off the Shelf Festival, Sheffield, UK
- 2015: Ilkley Literature Festival, Ilkley, UK
- 2015: London Literature Festival, London, UK
- 2015: Lost Children: The Black Atlantic and Northern Britain – An Interdisciplinary Symposium, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
- 2015: Altered States: Configuring Madness in Caribbean Literature, University of Liege, Belgium [Keynote Speaker]
- 2015: Cambridge Literary Festival, Cambridge, UK
- 2014: Rupture, Crisis, Transformation: New Directions in US Studies at the end of the American Century, Birkbeck, University of London, UK [Keynote Speaker]
- 2014: Imagining and Imaging the Greater Caribbean, Inaugural Conference, Columbia University, New York, NY
- 2014: French Association of English Studies, Caen, France [Keynote Speaker]
- 2014: University of Central Lancashire Distinguished Visitor, Preston, UK
- 2014: Bocas Literary Festival, Trinidad and Tobago
- 2014: Venice International Literary Festival, Venice, Italy
- 2014: Oceans in Literary Imagination and Historical Consciousness, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates [Keynote Speaker]
- 2014: Graham Storey Lecture, Cambridge University, UK
- 2014: Nobel Lecture, National Cultural Centre, Castries, St. Lucia
- 2013: Afroeurope@ns IV: Black Cultures and Identities in Europe: Continental Shifts, Shifts in Perception, University of London, London, UK [Keynote Speaker]
- 2013: Allen J. Koppenhaver Literary Lecture, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH
- 2013: Cities by the Water: Post-Colonial History and Participation of Newcomers, Vancouver, Canada [Keynote Speaker]
- 2013: 'What is Africa to Me Now?', University of Liege, Belgium [Plenary Speaker]
- 2012: Adelaide Writers' Week, Adelaide, Australia
- 2012: The Postcolonial City 2012: Re-evaluating the Postcolonial City, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK [Keynote Speaker]
- 2011: Reconfigurations: Remaking Narrative, Reinventing Genre in Postcolonial and Diasporic Writing and Performance, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK [Keynote Speaker]
- 2011: Singapore Writers Festival, Singapore
- 2011: American Writers Festival, Singapore Management University, Singapore [Keynote Speaker]
- 2011: Paraty International Literary Festival, Paraty, Brazil
- 2011: Time of the Writer International Writers Festival, The University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- 2011: The Black Atlantic and the Biographical Turn: Slavery, Migration, and the Origins of the Modern World, National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC
- 2010: Pioneering the History of Black Britain: A Conference in Honor of James Walvin, Yale University, New Haven, CT [Organizer and Moderator]
- 2010: 'Off the Shelf' Festival of Writing and Reading, Sheffield, UK
- 2010: 'Something I Said?' Festival, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
- 2010: Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester, UK
- 2010: Leicester O2 Academy, Leicester, UK
- 2010: Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, The University of the West Indies at St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
- 2010: Giornata in onore di Caryl Phillips, University of Calabria, Italy
- 2010: Resident Writer, Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities and Fine Arts, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
- 2010: The Invention of Legacy: A Tribute to Hena Maes-Jelinek, Windsor, England, UK
- 2010: The Northcliffe Lectures in Literature: Writing in an Age of Terror, University College, London, UK
- 2009: SAMLA conference, Atlanta, GA [Keynote Speaker]
- 2009: Slavery and Literature Conference - Yale University, New Haven, CT
- 2008: EACLALS Conference – Venice, Italy [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: A Triangular Traffic: A Symposium on Literature, Slavery, and the Archive, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK
- 2007: The Morrell Lecture, University of York
- 2007: Transatlantic Destinies, Dartmouth College, NH [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: Cosmopolitanism and Globalization: Memory – Spaces – Cities – Images, SUNY Stony Book, Stony Brook, NY [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: Beyond Blackface: African Americans and American Mass Culture, 1880-1930, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: Royal and Shirley Durst Lecture, SUNY Purchase College, Purchase, NY
- 2007: Ilkley Literature Festival, Ilkley, England
- 2007: European Perspectives on the Black Atlantic, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: "James Baldwin: Work, Life, Legacies" Queen Mary College, University of London [Keynote Speaker]
- 2007: Passa Porta Literary Festival, Brussels, Belgium (Writer-in-Residence)
- 2007: John La Rose Conference, South Bank Centre, London [Keynote speaker]
- 2006: Galway Arts Festival, Galway, Ireland
- 2006: 25 Years of Writing – Caryl Phillips, University of Liège, Belgium [Keynote speaker]
- 2006: Fundamentalism and Literature, University of Münster, Germany [Keynote speaker]
- 2005: Africa '05: In Conversation with Chinua Achebe, South Bank Centre, London
- 2005: Sierra Leone National Book Awards, Freetown, Sierra Leone [Guest of Honour]
- 2005: The African Presence in Europe, Antwerp, Belgium [Keynote speaker]
- 2005: Necessary Journeys: An International Symposium about Artistic Journeys, Departures and Returns, London [Keynote speaker]
- 2005: Vancouver International Writers Festival, Vancouver, Canada
- 2005: WordFest Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival, Calgary, Canada
- 2005: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
- 2005: Ilkley Literature Festival, Ilkley, England
- 2005: Sydney Writers Festival, Sydney, Australia (Times Literary Supplement Lecture)
- 2005: Auckland Readers and Writers Festival, Auckland, New Zealand
- 2005: Diasporic Dialogues: Race and Politics Across the Black Atlantic – University of Texas at Austin, TX
- 2005: Why Literature Matters – Yale University, New Haven, CT
- 2005: EACLALS Conference – Malta [Keynote speaker]
- 2003: Revisiting Slave Narratives – Montpellier, France
- 2003: Frontières – Paris, France [co-organizer]
- 2003: The Caribbean in New York and Paris – Bellagio, Italy [Conference organizer]
- 2002: Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt
- 2001: Voces del Caribe, Encuentro Internacional de Literatura, Madrid, Spain
- 2000: The Day of the Reader, Rotterdam, Holland
- 2000: Axial Writing Conference, Swansea, Wales [Keynote speaker]
- 2000: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
- 2000: L'Écriture Multicolore Conference – Paris, France [Co-chairman]
- 2000: Literature and Society in a Postcolonial World – Liege, Belgium [Keynote speaker]
- 2000: "Textports" Conference – Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool [Keynote speaker]
- 1999: Conference of New Literatures in English, Tubingen, Germany
- 1999: Conference in Honor of Maryse Condé, New York, NY [Keynote speaker]
- 1998: PEN 65th International Congress, Helsinki, Finland [Keynote speaker]
- 1998: Contemporary British Writing Seminar, Brussels, Belgium [Chairman]
- 1998: Arthur Ravenscroft Memorial Lecture, University of Leeds, England
- 1998: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1997: 20th Galway Arts Festival, Galway, Ireland
- 1997: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1997: Contemporary British Writing Seminar, Brussels, Belgium [Chairman]
- 1997: Brighton Festival, Brighton, England
- 1996: Second Singapore Contemporary Literature Seminar, Singapore [Chairman]
- 1996: "The Caribbean Writer" Tenth Anniversary Conference, St Croix, USVI
- 1996: Contemporary British Writing Seminar, Brussels, Belgium [Chairman]
- 1995: First Singapore Contemporary Literature Seminar, Singapore [Chairman]
- 1995: In "Other" Words: Literature in a Changing Europe, Amsterdam, Holland
- 1995: Harbourfront Reading Series' Festival of Fiction, Toronto, Canada
- 1995: Perth Writer's Festival, Perth, Australia
- 1995: Contemporary British Writing Conference, Delhi, India
- 1995: Contemporary British Writing Seminar, Jaipur, India
- 1995: Walberberg British Writers Seminar, Cologne, Germany [Chairman]
- 1994: 19th Annual Chancellor's Conference on Composition and Literature, UCLA, Los Angeles, California [Keynote speaker]
- 1994: Vancouver International Writers Festival, Vancouver, Canada
- 1994: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1994: Paul Edwards Memorial Conference, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1994: Oxford Conference for the Book, Oxford, Mississippi
- 1994: Walberberg British Writers Seminar, Cologne, Germany [Chairman]
- 1993: Finland International Writers Conference, Lhati, Finland
- 1993: Hay-on-Wye Literature Festival, Hay-on-Wye, England
- 1993: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1992: Hull International Literature Festival, Hull, England [Resident Writer]
- 1991: New Nation International Writers Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1991: The International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront, Toronto, Canada
- 1991: Cheltenham Literature Festival, Cheltenham, England
- 1991: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1991: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1990: New Zealand International Writers Festival, Wellington, New Zealand
- 1990: Adelaide Writers Festival, Adelaide, Australia
- 1990: Walberberg British Writers Seminar, Cologne, Germany
- 1989: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1989: Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies – Silver Jubilee Conference – University of Kent, Canterbury, England
- 1989: XIIth Annual Conference of German-Speaking Countries of the New Literatures in English, Giessen, Germany [Keynote speaker]
- 1988: British Council Cambridge Seminar, Cambridge, England
- 1987: International Conference of Contemporary Writing in English, Freiburg, Germany
- 1987: British Writers Festival, Hamburg, Germany
- 1986: The International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront, Toronto, Canada
Major Reading Tours
- 2015: United States of America and United Kingdom
- 2010: United Kingdom
- 2007: United States of America and United Kingdom
- 2006: Sweden
- 2005: United States of America
- 2003: Italy
- 2002: Japan
- 2001: United Kingdom
- 2000: United States of America
- 1999: Germany – Belgium – Netherlands
- 1998: Germany
- 1997: United States of America
- 1997: Canada
- 1997: Germany
- 1997: Barbados
- 1996: Germany
- 1995: Australia
- 1994: United States of America
- 1994: Singapore
- 1994: Malaysia
- 1994: Indonesia
- 1994: Sri Lanka
- 1993: United States of America
- 1991: South Africa
- 1991: Germany
- 1991: Finland
- 1991: Jamaica – Barbados – Trinidad
- 1990: Sweden
- 1990: Ghana
- 1990: New Zealand
- 1990: Australia
- 1987: India
- 1986: Germany
Teaching
- 2005 – present: Professor of English, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- 2002 – 2005: Director of Initiatives in the Humanities, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY
- 1998 – 2005: Professor of English and Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY
- 1997 – 98: Professor of English and Writer in Residence, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- 1994 – 97: Professor of English, Writer in Residence, and Co–Director of Creative Writing Center, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- 1992 – 94: Writer–in–Residence and Co–Director of Creative Writing Center, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- 1990 – 92: Visiting Writer, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
- 1989: Writer–in–Residence, University of Stockholm, Sweden
- 1987: Writer–in–Residence, Literary Criterion Centre, University of Mysore, India
- 1980 – 82: Writer–in–Residence, Arts Council of Great Britain, The Factory Arts Centre, London
Visiting Positions
- 2018: UNESCO City of Literature Visiting Professor, University of East Anglia, UK
- 2017: The Don and Judy McCormack Endowed Visiting Artist-Scholar Residency, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
- 2017: Visiting Professor, University of Liege, Belgium
- 2016: Kapnick Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, University of Virginia
- 2015: Millett Writing Fellow, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
- 2013: Walton Visiting Writer in Fiction, University of Arkansas
- 2013: Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, University of South Florida
- 2009: Visiting Professor, Department of English, Oxford University, England
- 2008: Montgomery Fellow in Residence and Visiting Professor of English, Dartmouth College, NH
- 2005 – 2006: Visiting Professor of English and Weiss International Fellow in Literature and the Arts, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY
- 1999 and 2000: Visiting Professor in the Humanities, University of the West Indies, Barbados
- 1994: Writer-in-Residence, National Institute of Education, Singapore
- 1993 Fall: Visiting Professor of English, New York University, New York, NY
- 1992 and 1993: Visiting Writer, Humber College, Toronto, Canada
- 1991: Visiting Lecturer, University of Poznan, Poland
- 1990: Visiting Lecturer, University of Ghana, Ghana
- 1983 – 1995: Writing Instructor, Arvon Foundation, England
Courses Taught
at Yale University
- Literature of the Middle Passage
- Advanced Fiction
- Contemporary British Fiction
at Barnard College
- British Fiction: Colonialism and Class
- Literature of the Middle Passage
- Writing and Society
- Fiction Writing
- Postcolonial Literature
at Amherst College
- Writing about Reading
- Advanced Composition
- Writing Fiction
- Writing, Writers, and Society
- British Fiction in the 1980's
- British Fiction: Colonialism, Class and Representation
courses taught elsewhere
- Post-Colonial Literature [Africa, Caribbean, Canada, India, and Australia]
- Caribbean Literature since 1945
- Writing for the Stage and Screen
- Fiction Writing [Workshop and Seminar form]
Agents
Literary
Dramatic
Film Rights