Before acclaimed author Colson Whitehead commits his characters to paper, he imagines them — but not their faces.
“I think I am a visual writer. I'm trying to see what the characters were seeing and getting [them] on the page,” Whitehead said on St. Louis on the Air. He also recounted seeing “The Underground Railroad,” his first Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, adapted to film. “I never thought about what Cora, the main character, looks like. But then she came on screen. I was like, ‘Oh, that is Cora.’ So all these people who were faceless, in my mind, suddenly had faces, and it was really magical.”
Whitehead is in St. Louis to receive the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award. The award is presented annually by the St. Louis University Libraries to recognize a writer who “deepens our insight into the human condition and expands the scope of our compassion.”
Whitehead began his career writing about television, books, and music for the Village Voice. He channeled his creative energies toward fulfilling a boyhood dream of writing fiction some years later. After penning five novels that were well-received by critics and readers alike, Whitehead’s work won two Pulitzer Prizes in Fiction: one for 2016’s “The Underground Railroad” and the other for 2019’s “The Nickel Boys.” Both of those works have been adapted to the small and big screen.
His current work is focused on completing the final novel in his family saga crime series, the Harlem Trilogy. Whitehead joins other recipients of the St. Louis Literary Award including Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, Stephen Sondheim and Jamaica Kincaid.
To hear Colson Whitehead talk about his first fiction fails and why he kept going, the lasting relevance of 2016’s “The Underground Railroad” and his 2018 decision to write “The Nickel Boys” instead of a heist novel, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or YouTube or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Colson Whitehead receives the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award
When: 7 p.m. April 9
Where: Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
