Nicole Dennis-Benn

Department/Subdepartment
Education
B.S. in Biology and Nutritional Sciences from Cornell University
M.P.H from the University of Michigan School of Public Health
M.F.A from Sarah Lawrence College Creative Writing Program
Biography
Nicole Dennis-Benn is an award-winning novelist whose books place working-class Jamaicans, especially women and queer folk, at the center of the universal human experience. Her debut novel, HERE COMES THE SUN, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2016 and was recently listed as a New York Times Most Notable Book of the decade. PATSY, her second novel, was a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick and a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and was named best book of the year by TIME, Oprah, People, NPR, among others. Nicole was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, Pen/Faulkner Award in Fiction, and a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award Fiction Prize. Her books have remained as must-reads on various major lists since publication and have been translated into multiple languages, including German, Italian, French, and Portuguese. She is currently a Visiting Associate Professor in Creative Writing at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ´«Ã½. Her highly anticipated 3rd novel with Random House is forthcoming in July 2026.