Bryan Washington (born April 22, 1993) is an American author from Houston, Texas. His debut short story collection, Lot, won the 2020 Young Lions Fiction Award.Luis Alberto Urria, "In Bryan Washington’s ‘Lot,’ Stories Reveal Houston’s Hidden Borders". The New York Times, May 14, 2019. His third novel, Palaver, won the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. His writing has also appeared in Granta, The New York Times Magazine, Time, GQ, Esquire, and more. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
In 2019, he was name a "5 Under 35" Honoree by the National Book Foundation. Retrieved June 1, 2026. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2026.
Early life and education Washington was born 1993 in Kentucky. His family moved to Katy, Texas, 30 miles west of Houston, when he was 3 years old. Washington knew that he was gay at a young age but did not formally come out, fearing stigmatization. He graduated from James E. Taylor High School in Katy in 2011.
Washington graduated from the University of Houston with a BA in English. He continued his education at the University of New Orleans, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Retrieved June 1, 2026. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
Career Washington's first book, Lot, is a series of 13 interconnected short stories set in Houston published in 2019 by Riverhead. The book centers in part on Nicolás, a young man of mixed African American and Latino American descent who works in his family's restaurant while coming to terms with his sexuality.Colin Grant, "Lot by Bryan Washington review – tough but tender stories". The Guardian, August 7, 2019. The book won the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, the 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize, and the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.
Washington's debut novel, Memorial, was published in 2020. It was longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Memorial was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. Prior to publication, A24 purchased the rights to adapt the novel for television, with Washington to write the screenplay adaptation.
His second novel, Family Meal, won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
Washington's fourth book, Palaver, was a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction and won the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction.
Washington previously lectured in English at Rice University. In July 2020, he was made George Guion Williams Writer in Residence and Scholar in Residence for Racial Justice. He is currently based in Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
Awards Year Title Award Category Result R 2019 Lot Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence — 2020 Texas Institute of Letters Award Sergio Troncoso Award Retrieved June 1, 2026. Aspen Words Literary Prize — Crook's Corner Book Prize — Retrieved June 1, 2026. Dylan Thomas Prize — Edmund White Award — Lambda Literary Awards Gay Fiction Young Lions Fiction Award — Memorial: A Novel Center for Fiction First Novel Prize — Retrieved June 1, 2026. National Book Critics Circle Award Fiction Retrieved June 1, 2026. 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Fiction Retrieved June 1, 2026. Aspen Words Literary Prize — Retrieved June 1, 2026. Heartland Booksellers Award Fiction Retrieved June 1, 2026. Ferro-Grumley Award LGBTQ Fiction Retrieved June 1, 2026. VCU Cabell First Novelist Award — Retrieved June 1, 2026. 2022 James Tait Black Memorial Prize — Retrieved June 1, 2026. William Saroyan International Prize for Writing Fiction Retrieved June 1, 2026. 2024 Family Meal: A NovelLambda Literary AwardGay Fiction 2025 Palaver National Book AwardFiction Los Angeles Times Book PrizeFiction"L.A. Times Book Prize honorees named — many celebrate resistance: 'When people rise, empires always fall'" by Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, Retrieved May 8, 2026.
Bibliography Short story collection
Novels
Fiction and essays
References
External links