Bryan Washington is an award-winning author and essayist from Houston, Texas. His debut novel, Memorial, was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, and other publications. He is the recipient of a Whiting Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Pushcart Prize. He is currently a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. His writing focuses on the complexities of family, identity, and place. He is a powerful voice in contemporary literature, exploring the nuances of the human experience.