CHRIS L. TERRY was born in 1979 to an African American father and an Irish American mother. He has an MA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University and a creative writing MFA from Columbia College Chicago. Terry’s debut novel, Zero Fade, was named a Best Book of the Year by Slate and Kirkus Reviews. Terry lives in Los Angeles with his family.
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year
"Perhaps nothing can feel more elusive than determining your own
identity, but Chris L. Terry does a magnificent job of dissecting
all the ways in which identity both is and isn't a construct in his
brilliant new book, Black Card . . . Terry employs a fierce humor
throughout the narrative, but don't mistake wit for detachment—this
book is deeply moving, a wise meditation on race, authenticity, and
belonging." —Kristin Iversen, Nylon
"Hilariously searing . . . As Terry so cleverly and poignantly
points out, the narrator's split personality embodies the soul of
America itself. And with deadpan comic timing, sensitive insight,
and taut, terse prose, Terry plunges the reader into his turmoil.
Like nature, racial identity in America abhors a vacuum. If you
don't fill in your own identity, as Black Card illustrates, someone
else will. Striking a superb balance between levity and heaviness,
Terry crafts an enormously fun read about a decidedly less than fun
topic." —Jason Heller, NPR
"Author Chris L. Terry deserves credit for skillfully juggling
pathos, humor, and anger in a novel that captures the pigeonholing
experienced by biracial people trying to fit into a society that
looks for either/or categorization . . . The story is powerful and
entertaining, and Leon Nixon smoothly delivers Terry’s sly humor,
perfectly capturing the roiling emotions of a young man searching
for his truest self." —Rochelle M. O’Gorman, The Christian Science
Monitor
"Black Card is a bold and affecting novel—funny, infuriating and at
times profound. Terry is a new talent who's managed to examine race
in America like few writers before him. This fresh and innovative
novel explores both whiteness and blackness in contemporary
America." —Scott Neuffer, Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Black Card holds many modes and many moods in its packed and
tactile narrative. Chris L. Terry has managed to capture, all at
once, the complications of being black, being young, and being in
love. This is a detailed ride about finding one's way to the
inside, and finding that the inside isn't all you thought it would
be. This book is a mirror, inside of which I saw so many selves."
—Hanif Abdurraqib, author of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
and Go Ahead in the Rain
"Chris L. Terry is so damn good at peeling back all the tricky
layers of race and identity and belonging, and grappling with all
the icky stuff of being young and trying to figure out how to be.
I'm a '90s kid who spent my afternoons earnestly taping obscure
rock songs off college radio in suburban Chicagoland, so Black Card
feels like it was written explicitly for me. It's a hilarious and
honest examination of race and punk authenticity that's probably
gonna feel like it was written for you, too." —Samantha Irby,
author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life
"Black Card is an illuminating portrait of a young man who is
confronted by a world that (quite erroneously) feels his blackness
and his punkness should be conflicting interests . . . Black Card
serves as a document proving [black punks are] not alone in their
tastes, in their struggles to connect with others, in their
beautiful identities." —Douglas Martin, Passion of the Weiss
"Race is false. Race is real. Chris L. Terry allows these two
conflicting truths to dance and spar on the pages of his wickedly
funny and daringly smart new novel. Black Card is a wonderful and
welcome addition to the growing canon of mixed–race literature."
—Danzy Senna, author of Caucasia and New People
"With Black Card, Chris L. Terry has written a sly, funny,
melancholy take on race and performing identity in America. A love
letter to the DIY scene of the 1990s as well as a portrait of an
artist as a young, confused man, this novel is a truly unique
exploration of what it takes to build a sense of self in a world
dictated by the unbending rules of race and capitalism."—Kaitlyn
Greenidge, author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman
"Terry crafts a novel we haven't quite seen before: the rare book
about racial identity that eschews heaviness without ever feeling
lightweight. Black Card is lively, nuanced, and always a step ahead
of the reader. This is a must–read book about navigating life as a
biracial person in a nation uncomfortable with any identity that is
not white.” —Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of We Cast a Shadow
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