World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Dinaw Mengestu

ディナウ・メンゲストゥ

Dinaw Mengestu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1978-06-30 （Addis Ababa, Ethiopia）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Peoria, Illinois (childhood) → Oak Park, Illinois (high school) → Washington, D.C. area (early career) → New York State (Bard College)

Career

Occupations
novelist, professor of creative writing
Active Years
2005-
Affiliations
Bard College (Program in Written Arts)

Education

Georgetown University
Undergraduate / English
Degree: B.A.
Country: United States
Received a B.A. in English (year not specified)
Columbia University
Graduate (Creative Writing) / Writing
Degree: MFA
Year of Graduation: 2005
Country: United States
MFA in writing

Awards

New York Times Notable Book
2007
Category: Literary honors
Organization: The New York Times
Result: Notable
Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle
2007
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Category: Roman
Organization: Elle (France)
Result: Shortlisted
Guardian First Book Award
2007
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Category: First book
Organization: The Guardian
Result: Won
Prix du Premier Roman
2007
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Category: Étranger
Organization: Prix du Premier Roman (France)
Result: Won
Prix Femina étranger
2007
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Category: Étranger
Organization: Prix Femina (France)
Result: Longlisted
Dylan Thomas Prize
2008
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Organization: Dylan Thomas Prize organization
Result: Shortlisted
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction)
2008
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Category: First Fiction
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Won
Young Lions Fiction Award
2008
Work: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Organization: The New York Public Library
Result: Shortlisted
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
2011
Work: How to Read the Air
Organization: Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Result: Won
Vilcek Prize (Creative Promise in Literature)
2011
Category: Creative Promise in Literature
Organization: Vilcek Foundation
Result: Won
Lannan Fiction Fellowship
2007
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: Fellowship
National Book Foundation 5 Under 35
2007
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Honoree
MacArthur Fellow
2012
Category: Fellowship
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

2007 Novel

Tells the story of Sepha Stephanos, an Ethiopian immigrant who runs a failing grocery in a gentrifying Washington, D.C. neighborhood and grapples with isolation, memory, and belonging.

immigrationisolationnostalgiagentrification

How to Read the Air

2010 Novel

Follows a young man's journey and family history, exploring memory, identity, and the complexities of familial relationships.

familymemoryidentity

All Our Names

2014 Novel

Examines the lives and relationship of two characters affected by political violence, asking questions about guilt, responsibility, and memory.

memory of violenceatonementpolitics and the personal

Someone Like Us

2024 Novel

Published in 2024. Continues Mengestu's concerns with migration and family; detailed plot summary not provided here.

migrationfamilyidentity

Bibliography

  • The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007)
  • How to Read the Air (2010)
  • All Our Names (2014)
  • Someone Like Us (2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realismpostmodern elementslyrical and observational prose
Recurring Motifs
immigrant memoryloss and lonelinesssense of belonging

Legacy

Dinaw Mengestu is regarded as an important contemporary American writer addressing immigrant experiences. His early work received multiple international awards and nominations, and he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2012. As an educator at Bard College he has also influenced younger writers.

Academic Societies

  • Selected for Hay Festival's Africa39

Trivia

  • Born in Addis Ababa in 1978 and emigrated to the United States as a child with his family.
  • Gained international attention with his 2007 debut The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears.
  • Named a MacArthur Fellow in 2012.
  • Serves as Program Director of the Written Arts program at Bard College.
  • Selected for The New Yorker's '20 Under 40' in 2010.