Heads Of The Colored People - Tapa dura

"The level of detail that goes into each of Nafissa Thompson-Spires’s sentences is astonishing, and the worlds that she can create in just a few words are mind-blowing. Ready yourself for this collection. It will change the way you look at writing, and at how you see things" (Candice Carty-Williams)

"The kind of collection that makes you shake your head in delight. Her voice is fresh-laundry-clean: I have not read anything like it in years. The prose is cunning. It appears simple, but the overall effect is powerful. Her stories feel simultaneously like the poke of a stick and a comforting balm; a smack followed by a kiss. I’m so into it." (Bim Adewunmi Guardian)

"Vivid, fast, funny, way-smart, and verbally inventive, these stories by the vastly talented Thompson-Spires create a compelling surface tension made of equal parts scepticism towards human nature and intense fondness of it. Located on the big questions, they are full of heart" (George Saunders)

"Every so often, a voice comes along that knocks you sideways; this debut collection of short stories was one such moment. From the first page there’s an electricity and freshness to the voice that grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let me go" (Andrew McMillan Observer)

"Thompson-Spires' stories are dark, have a cutting sense of humour, and are entertaining and essential
" (Sarah Shaffi Stylist)

"[Thompson-Spires] writes satire of the Paul Beatty school, her humour as daring as it is disarming. This is a firecracker of a book, sizzling with politics, but it's also a triumph of storytelling: intelligent, acerbic and ingenious" (Lucy Scholes Financial Times)

"Witty, mischievous... These coolly ironic and grimly funny tales brim with snap and verve, and this is a debut collection of daring and aplomb " (Colin Grant The Guardian)

"Her electric style is extrovert, erudite and hugely entertaining, despite the often grim subject matter... Thompson-Spires invigoratingly hits the mark... you end the collection greedy to read whatever is coming next from this unmistakable talent" (Anthony Cummins The Observer)

"Superbly witty... The topics she takes on are often deadly serious, but every story flashes grim humor. She is also a brutally sharp observer" (Janet Maslin New York Times)

"[Thompson-Spires] writes with complete control, building a story in the precise shape of her anger. Her sentences intertwine and double back on themselves, and each one stings" (Lois Beckett Guardian)

**Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction 2019**
**Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction 2018**
*Finalist for the Kirkus Prize 2018*
*Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize 2019*

In this crackling debut collection Nafissa Thompson-Spires interrogates our supposedly post-racial era. To wicked and devastating effect she exposes the violence, both external and self-inflicted, that threatens black Americans, no matter their apparent success.

A teenager is insidiously bullied as her YouTube following soars; an assistant professor finds himself losing a subtle war of attrition against his office mate; a nurse is worn down by the demand for her skills as a funeral singer. And across a series of stories, a young woman grows up, negotiating and renegotiating her identity.

Heads of the Colored People shows characters in crisis, both petty and catastrophic. It marks the arrival of a remarkable writer and an essential and urgent new voice.