JJ Amaworo Wilson | new york journal of books

https://jjawilson.wordpress.com/

JJ Amaworo Wilson’s short fiction, essays, and poetry have been published in numerous literary magazines and anthologies, including African American Journal, Justice Journal, Mission at Tenth, Electric Literature, The Frogmore Papers, IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain, and Afrobeat, among others.

His novel, Damnificados, was published by PM Press in 2016. It won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction, the Independent Publisher Book Award for Multicultural Fiction, and the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Fiction; was nominated for an American Book Award, the Eric Hoffer Book Award, and the Foreword Indies Book Award; and was named a Top 10 book in O, the Oprah Winfrey magazine.

Mr. Amaworo Wilson has also written 20 books about language and language learning, two of which won awards which saw him honored at Buckingham Palace in 2008 and 2011 in his native UK. He is the writer-in-residence at Western New Mexico University, USA, and teaches on the MFA in Creative Writing at Stonecoast, University of Southern Maine.

Books by JJ Amaworo Wilson

Damnificados: A Novel (Spectacular Fiction)

Book Reviews by JJ Amaworo Wilson

Author(s):

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Genre(s):

Political & Social Science, Government, Geopolitics

The Message

October 3, 2024

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“part memoir, part travelogue, part guide for writers, part polemic.”

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Image of All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey

Author(s):

Teresa Wong

Genre(s):

Biography, Autobiography & Memoir, Family Memoir, Graphic, Nonfiction, Comics, & Cartoons, Memoir, History, China

All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey

September 23, 2024

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

On page 173 of Teresa Wong’s excellent new graphic memoir All Our Ordinary Stories, we learn that monarch butterflies take multiple generations to compl

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Image of The Black Box: Writing the Race

Author(s):

Henry Louis Gates Jr

Genre(s):

Biography, Autobiography & Memoir, Arts & Culture, Literary Nonfiction

The Black Box: Writing the Race

May 9, 2024

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“a gift to anyone interested in African American history and African American writing . . .”

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Image of John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community (Black Lives)

Author(s):

Raymond Arsenault

Genre(s):

Biography, Autobiography & Memoir, Social Activists, Historical, Black & African American, Civil Rights

John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community (Black Lives)

February 18, 2024

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“Despite the horrific racism he’d seen, suffered, and fought against, John Lewis never allowed his heart to be consumed by hate.

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Image of Let Us Descend: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club 2023)

Author(s):

Jesmyn Ward

Genre(s):

Black & African American, Women’s Fiction, Historical, Self Realization

Let Us Descend: A Novel

December 25, 2023

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

A new Jesmyn Ward novel is a literary event. Ward has won the National Book Award twice with works that encapsulate the U.S.’s horrific history of racism and inequality.

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Image of Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America

Author(s):

Ibram X. Kendi

Illustrator(s):

Joel Christian Gill

Genre(s):

Nonfiction, Graphic, Nonfiction, Comics, & Cartoons, Black & African American

Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America

July 19, 2023

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“Stamped from the Beginning is an excellent, accessible primer on the history of U.S. racism.

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Image of Juneteenth: A Picture Book for Kids Celebrating Black Joy

Author(s):

Van G. Garrett

Illustrator(s):

Reginald C Adams, Samson Bimbo Adenugba

Genre(s):

Children, 4–8, Picture Book, Black & African American

Juneteenth

May 24, 2023

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“the best thing about Juneteenth is the joyful tone of the narrative, which is conveyed by the artwork. The illustrations are colorful, vibrant, and clear.”

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Image of Life of Che (The Alberto Breccia Library)

Author(s):

Héctor Germán Oesterheld

Genre(s):

Graphic, Nonfiction, Comics, & Cartoons, Biography, Autobiography & Memoir, Military

Life of Che (The Alberto Breccia Library)

April 25, 2022

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

The story of this book is almost as extraordinary as the story of Che Guevara’s life.

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Image of Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It

Author(s):

Sharman Apt Russell

Genre(s):

Health Care & Medicine, International Affairs, Health, Wellness & Medical

Within Our Grasp: Childhood Malnutrition Worldwide and the Revolution Taking Place to End It

May 13, 2021

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

Humans have been hungry for a long time.

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Image of Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul?: Essays

Author(s):

Jesse McCarthy

Genre(s):

Essays, Black & African American

Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul?: Essays

March 29, 2021

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“For its penetrating thought, its joyful language, and its eclectic wanderings among the peaks and valleys of high and low culture, this book is an act of sublime generosity from a brillian

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Image of How to Pronounce Knife: Stories

Author(s):

Souvankham Thammavongsa

Genre(s):

Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Asian American

How to Pronounce Knife: Stories

April 20, 2020

Reviewed by:

JJ Amaworo Wilson

“Thammavongsa says vital things about the immigrant experience: how refugees strive to fit in and yet retain cultural traditions; how race is entwined with class; and how family is, in the

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