ZZ Packer

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ZZ Packer
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ZZ Packer at the 2009 Texas Book Festival.
Born
Zuwena Packer

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Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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Alma materYale University (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Iowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa (MFA)
Period2000-present
Notable awards5 Under 35 Honoree
Guggenheim Fellow (2005)
Whiting Award (1999)

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Zuwena "ZZ" Packer (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer, primarily of works of short fiction, and teacher. She is the recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, the Whiting Award, and the Guggenheim Fellowship.[1] Her book Drinking Coffee Elsewhere won the Commonwealth First Fiction Award and an ALEX award.[2] It became a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award and was selected for the Today Show Book Club by John Updike.[3] In 2006, she was named a 5 Under 35 Honoree by the National Book Foundation.[4]

Early life and education

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Packer grew up in Atlanta, Georgia,[5][1] and Louisville, Kentucky. "ZZ" was a childhood nickname; her given name is Zuwena.[6][7] Packer enjoyed reading from a young age, visiting the local library daily with her mother in Atlanta.[8] Her writing was published in the magazine Seventeen at the age of 19.[6] Packer is a 1990 graduate of Seneca High School in Louisville, Kentucky.[9]

Packer attended Yale University, receiving her BA in 1994. Her graduate work included an MA at Johns Hopkins University in 1995 and an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop of the University of Iowa in 1999, where she was mentored by James Alan McPherson and Marilynne Robinson.[10][11]

Writing career

Her work was first published in the Debut Fiction issue of The New Yorker in 2000. Her short story in the issue became the title story in her collection Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. As Publishers Weekly put it, "this debut short story collection is getting the highest of accolades from the New York Times, Harper's, the New Yorker and most every other branch of the literary criticism tree."[12]

"ZZ Packer’s Drinking Coffee Elsewhere is taught in creative writing courses nationwide and with good reason. This short story collection is brimming with characters who are striving to find themselves, to understand themselves, and to survive", commented novelist Colson Whitehead.[13]

In a 2015 interview, when Packer was a Radcliffe Fellow, she reported that she was working on a novel set during Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War.[8] The novel-in-progress, The Thousands, "chronicles the lives of black, white, and Native American families shortly after the Civil War, through Reconstruction and the Indian Campaigns in the Southwest".[14] She has been regularly contributing to The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.

Teaching and fellowships

Packer has held teaching posts at Stanford University, where she was a Jones Lecturer, the Michener Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Vassar College, and San Francisco University.[11][15][16] As of 2025, she is Assistant Professor of English at the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University[17] and teaches Advanced Narrative Techniques on the American Short Fiction MFA for All.[18]

She has been the recipient of a Dobie Paisano Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, a Hutchings Fellowship at Harvard University, a Knafel Fellowship at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and the Whiting Award.[15][16][17]

Works

Books

Year Title
2003 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

Anthologies

Year Title
2000 Best American Short Stories 2000[19]
2003 Best American Short Stories 2003[20]
2008 New Stories from the South: The Year's Best[21]
2015 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories[22]

Other works

Year Title Publication
1999 Brownies Harper's Magazine[23]
2000 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere The New Yorker[24]
2002 The Ant of the Self The New Yorker[25]
2002 Every Tongue Shall Confess Ploughshares[26]
2002 The Stranger The Washington Post Magazine[27]
2004 Derby Pie The New York Times Magazine[28]
2004 An Interview with John Kerry The Believer Magazine[29]
2004 I Was Black, and I Told Her O, The Oprah Magazine[30]
2004 Losing My Religion Salon[31]
2005 'Dr. King's Refrigerator': Thinking Outside the Icebox The New York Times Magazine[32]
2005 Sorry, Not Buying The American Prospect[33]
2007 Buffalo Soldiers Granta[34]
2007 Pita Delicious The Washington Post Magazine[35]
2007 Gideon The Guardian[36]
2007 The Finishing Party: ZZ Packer's Writing Group O, The Oprah Magazine[37]
2008 I want Obama to be daily proof that race is no barrier The Guardian
2008 Saved to ‘Drafts’ Granta[38]
2008 Working the Reunion The New York Times Magazine[39]
2009 No Polenta, No Cry The New York Times Magazine[40]
2009 Remembering Updike: ZZ Packer The New Yorker[41]
2009 A Finished Revolution? The Oxford American[42]
2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic's Wife Glamour[43]
2010 Dayward The New Yorker[44]
2011 Ferraro's Barack Problem HuffPost[45]
2012 Keeping it Weird in Austin, Texas Smithsonian[46]
2013 It's Beyoncé's World and We're Just Living In It Newsweek[47]
2017 Trump Talk: Your Translation Guide The New Yorker[48]
2017 What to Expect When You're Expecting Fascism The New Yorker[49]
2018 News of an ‘Outrage’ Used to Mean Something Very, Very Different The New York Times Magazine[50]
2018 When Is ‘Civility’ a Duty, and When Is It a Trap? The New York Times Magazine[51]
2019 July 30, 1866 The New York Times Magazine[52]
2019 Truth And Fiction Port Magazine[53]
2020 Preacher of the New Antiracist Gospel GQ[54]
2020 Sarah Cooper Doesn't Mimic Trump. She Exposes Him. The New York Times Magazine[55]
2020 The Empty Facts of the Breonna Taylor Decision The New Yorker[56]

Awards

Year Title Notes
1997 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award Winner
1999 Whiting Award[57] Winner
1999 Bellingham Review Award Winner
2003 Commonwealth Club of California Award[58] Winner
2004 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist
2004 PEN/Hemingway Award Finalist
2004 Alex Award[59] Winner

Other honors

Year Title
2006 5 under 35 honoree by the National Book Foundation[4]
2007 America's Best Young Novelists by Granta[60]
2007 Smithsonian Magazine's Young Innovators[61]
2010 The New Yorker magazine's "20 under 40" luminary fiction writers.[62]

References

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer reading kicks off renowned authors series | Emory University | Atlanta GA". news.emory.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2004 Alex Awards | Young Adult Library Services Association". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer | Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs". home.watson.brown.edu. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer, 5 Under 35 Honoree". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Previous Fellows | Dobie Paisano Fellowship | The University of Texas at Austin". dobiepaisano.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Birnbaum, Robert (2003-04-29). "ZZ Packer - Identity Theory". www.identitytheory.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kumar, Lisa, ed. (2004). Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields. Gale eBooks. Vol. 221. Detroit, Mich: Gale. pp. xv, 366–368. ISBN 978-0-7876-6701-6. ISSN 0010-7468.
  8. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Walsh, Colleen (2015-03-20). "Plotting Her Return". The Harvard Gazette.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hart, James D.; Martin, Wendy; Hinrichs, Danielle, eds. (2020). The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780191872112.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-187211-2.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Member Bonus: ZZ Packer on the Life and Work of James Alan McPherson". Ursa Story Company. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere", Barnes & Noble.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."10 Books Recommended by Pulitzer Prize Winners". www.bookbub.com.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Video: ZZ Packer". Poets & Writers. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  15. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer". Whiting Awards. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  16. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer". Iowa Writers Workshop. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  17. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2025-2026 Faculty Fellows". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."MFA for All Spring 2025". American Short Fiction. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  19. ^ The Best American Short Stories 2000
  20. ^ Best American Short Stories 2003
  21. ^ David Austin Gura, "ZZ Packer's edition of Southern stories straddles old and new Dixie" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Indy Week. August 20, 2008.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Review: '100 Years of Best American Short Stories' is vital yet flawed for loading the canon". Los Angeles Times. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. (1999-11-01). "[Fiction] Brownies, By ZZ Packer". Harper's Magazine. Vol. November 1999. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "The Ant of the Self". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Fall 2002 | Ploughshares". www.pshares.org. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. (2002-07-14). "The Stranger". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Derby Pie (Published 2004)". www.nytimes.com. 2004-10-17. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."An Interview with John Kerry". Believer Magazine. 2004-10-01. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."O Magazine". Archived from the original on 2021-11-28.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Losing my religion". Salon. 2004-11-21. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."'Dr. King's Refrigerator': Thinking Outside the Icebox (Published 2005)". www.nytimes.com. 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. (2005-11-20). "Sorry, Not Buying". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Buffalo Soldiers". Granta. 2007-04-16. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Washington post". The Washington Post.
  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. (2007-10-06). "Short story: Gideon by ZZ Packer". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  37. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."O Magazine".
  38. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Saved to 'Drafts'". Granta. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  39. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Working the Reunion (Published 2008)". www.nytimes.com. 2008-06-01. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  40. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."No Polenta, No Cry (Published 2009)". www.nytimes.com. 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  41. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "Remembering Updike: ZZ Packer". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  42. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Issue 64, Spring 2009". www.oxfordamerican.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  43. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Real Women's Money Dramas". Glamour. July 2009. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  44. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "Dayward". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  45. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Andrew Foster Altschul (2008-03-15). "ZZ Packer Takes on Geraldine Ferraro". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  46. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Keeping it Weird in Austin, Texas". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  47. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, ZZ (2013-02-15). "It's Beyoncé's World and We're Just Living In It". Newsweek. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  48. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "Trump Talk: Your Translation Guide". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  49. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "What to Expect When You're Expecting Fascism". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  50. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."News of an 'Outrage' Used to Mean Something Very, Very Different (Published 2018)". www.nytimes.com. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  51. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."When Is 'Civility' a Duty, and When Is It a Trap? (Published 2018)". www.nytimes.com. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  52. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ward, Jesmyn; Jenkins, Barry; Dove, Rita (2019-08-14). "A New Literary Timeline of African-American History (Published 2019)". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  53. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Port Magazine, Truth and Fiction". 8 May 2019.
  54. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. (20 August 2020). "What Happens to a Professor When His Theory of Anti-Racism Goes Mainstream?". GQ. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  55. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sarah Cooper Doesn't Mimic Trump. She Exposes Him". www.nytimes.com. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  56. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Packer, Z. Z. "The Empty Facts of the Breonna Taylor Decision". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  57. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ZZ Packer". www.whiting.org. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  58. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Commonwealth Club awards" (PDF).
  59. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2004 Alex Awards". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  60. ^ http://www.granta.com/Magazine/97October[permanent dead link] 2007
  61. ^ Tessa Decarlo, "Comedienne of Manners" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Smithsonian magazine, October 2007.
  62. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bosman, Julie (2010-06-02). "20 Young Writers Earn the Envy of Many Others". The New York Times.

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