ZZ Packer
Zuwena "ZZ" Packer (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer. She is primarily known for her works of short fiction. Early life and education. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Packer grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and Louisville, Kentucky. "ZZ" was a childhood nickname; her given name is Zuwena (Swahili for "good", Arabic dialect for "beautiful"). She was recognized as a talented writer at an early age, publishing in "Seventeen" at the age of 19. Packer is a 1990 graduate of Seneca High School, in Louisville, Kentucky. Packer attended Yale University, where she received 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. 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." "ZZ Packer’s "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" is taught in creative writing courses across the country 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 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Colson Whitehead. Packer is currently working on a novel set during Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War: "The subject is the Buffalo Soldiers; blacks who left the South, Louisiana in this case, and traveled to the West. You don't hear much about blacks in the West and I became really  fascinated by them. I thought to justify my interest I had better write about them." A short excerpt from the novel was published in "The New Yorker" magazine's "20 under 40" issue. She has been regularly contributing to "The New York Times Magazine" and "The New Yorker".