Bryan Washington is a National Book Award 5 Under 35 honoree and winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. He received the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award for his first book, Lot, which was also a finalist for the NBCC’s John Leonard Prize, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, BuzzFeed, Bon Appétit, and GQ, among other publications. He lives in Houston.
Praise for Lot
“Washington’s subtle, dynamic and flexible stories play out across
[Houston’s] sprawling and multiethnic neighborhoods… An alert and
often comic observer of the world… Washington cracks open a
vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are
aware... [T]here is a fair amount of joy in Washington’s stories…
An underthrob of emotion beats inside them. He’s confident enough
not to force the action. The stories feel loose, their cellular
juices free to flow." —Dwight Garner, New York Times
“This is a story collection that feels like a novel—not because the
characters return throughout the book, but because Washington’s
astute world-building creates an ever widening scope of Houston
that imprints itself on the mind and the psyche. He has such an
incredible skill at texturizing people and their histories through
each story that the two elements feel consequential to
each other. It’s a treat and an inspiration to
witness." —Ocean Vuong, GQ
“[S]tunning… Lot paints an unforgettable picture of
Houston and the people who call it home.... It's hard to overstate
what an accomplishment Lot is.... Washington does a
brilliant job making the city come to life in all its imperfect
glory. His book is an instant classic of Texas literature, but it's
more than that — it's a stunning work of art from a young writer
with immense talent and a rare sense of compassion, and one of the
strongest literary debuts in several years.” —NPR
"[F]unny, sad, wise & very alive in the best way." —Curtis
Sittenfeld (Twitter)
“Audacious... A profound exploration of the true meaning of
borders, written very much for and about our current cultural
moment….Washington is a one-man border-eradicating
crew.... There’s a knowing grin of local familiarity here, yet
Washington also manages to present this melancholy, jolly story in
the voice of a collective 'we' that renders the collection
universal.” —Luis Alberto Urrea, The New York Times Book
Review
“This eagerly awaited short-story collection, excerpted in The
New Yorker to much fanfare, depicts its author’s hometown of
Houston with empathy, tragedy, and exceptional
specificity.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Washington’s debut reads like a love letter to Houston.” —New
York Times
“Lot is Bryan Washington's debut book, and like...where has he
been my whole life?! This collection of stories—all of which take
place in Houston—is absolutely gut-wrenching and powerful, and
will immediately transport you out of whatever bubble you're living
in.” —Cosmopolitan
“Bryan Washington makes his already much-lauded debut
with Lot, a collection of extraordinary short stories set in
and across the city of Houston that thrum with vitality and
authenticity and are peopled with characters yearning for
connection.” —Southern Living
"A dynamic portrait of Houston and the people who live
there." —Time
"Lot spills over with life — funny, tender, and
profane.... Washington takes characters often consigned to the
literary margins and drags them to the center — not as exotic
objects of curiosity but as whole human beings, messy and defiant
and drawn in full, vibrant color." —Entertainment Weekly
"A technicolor portrait of the city, revealing both its
seediness and its enchantment. Lot's great gift is bringing
into the light those who live in the shadows." —O, the Oprah
Magazine
"The kind of stories I am always longing to read. I love the
urgency, honesty, and vitality of Washington’s voice. I love these
characters for where they’re from, and where they’re going, what
they know, and what they reveal about trouble and love."
—Justin Torres, author of We the Animals
"A brilliant display of raw talent, with gut-punching stories that
deliver with a lasting force. This is the literature that I've been
waiting for."
—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun
“Lot will affect you the way that cherished and, sometimes, painful
memories do, with a quality like haunting, a sense that the
encounter you've had is undeniably real and will stay with you for
a very long time. What a thrill to inhabit—to live in, to
navigate—the stories and people that make up Bryan Washington’s
powerful debut.”
—Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man
“What a book. This is a generous, powerful, deeply engrossing
collection of stories that will crack open your heart then put it
back together again. Lot is indelible, and Bryan Washington is an
important new talent.”
—R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
"Lot is the confession of a neighborhood, channeled through a
literary prodigy. Bryan Washington doesn't render a world, he
actually captures one, grabs it out of reality and holds it up for
you to see it sparkle. Unflinching, romantic while refusing to
romanticize, this is the debut of a prodigious talent."
—Mat Johnson, author of Loving Day and Pym
"Bryan Washington's voice has risen blazingly from Houston and now
commands us to pay attention. Lot is as raw, soulful and moving as
a story collection can get. It’s my favorite fiction debut of the
year."
—Jami Attenberg, New York Times bestselling author of The
Middlesteins and All Grown Up
"Bryan Washington gets Houston down on the page in a way I haven't
seen before; the city, in his hands, is revealed in all its strange
and righteous glory, a fresh sense of youth that's a pleasure to
read. Bryan is a thrilling new voice in American fiction and one to
watch."
—Amelia Gray, author of Isadora and Gutshot
"A sensitive portrait of life among Houston's struggling working
class.... Washington writes with an assurance that signals the
arrival of an important literary voice." —Kirkus
"Stellar... Washington is exact and empathetic, and the
character that emerges is refreshingly unapologetic about his
sexuality, even as it creates rifts in his
family.... Washington is a dynamic writer with a sharp eye for
character, voice, and setting. This is a remarkable collection from
a writer to watch." —Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)
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