Brandon Taylor Speaking Fee: $10,000 to $20,000

Brandon Taylor is an American writer whose work delves into themes of race, identity, and the complexities of human relationships. Born on June 1, 1989, in Prattville, Alabama, Taylor grew up in a small community outside Montgomery. Raised in a conservative Baptist environment, he was often the designated reader in his family, helping his illiterate mother and legally blind father with medical bills and government forms. His early reading materials included romance novels, his aunt's nursing-home manuals, and the Bible. Taylor attended Auburn University at Montgomery for his undergraduate studies and later pursued a graduate biochemistry program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. However, in 2016, he left the program to focus on creative writing, earning graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Taylor's debut novel, Real Life (2020), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize. The novel, set over a weekend, follows Wallace, a Black, queer doctoral student in a predominantly white Midwestern PhD program, navigating the complexities of race and identity. Taylor's writing has been praised for its precision and emotional depth, capturing the nuances of academic life and personal struggle. His short stories and essays have appeared in various publications, including Granta, Guernica, American Short Fiction, and The New Yorker. He is the senior editor of Electric Literature's "Recommended Reading" and a staff writer at Literary Hub. In 2021, Taylor published Filthy Animals, a collection of interlinked short stories that won The Story Prize and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. The stories explore themes of desire, violence, and the intricacies of human connection. His second novel, The Late Americans (2023), is a panoramic exploration of youth, love, and ambition in the era of late capitalism, featuring a diverse cast of characters navigating their artistic and personal lives. Taylor's work continues to resonate with readers and critics alike, establishing him as a significant voice in contemporary literature. Looking ahead, Taylor is set to release his third novel, Minor Black Figures, on October 7, 2025. The novel centers on a gay Black painter in New York City and his relationship with a former Jesuit priest. Additionally, Taylor is working on two nonfiction books: a collection of literary criticism scheduled for release in fall 2026 and a book on the craft of writing slated for fall 2027. He is also involved in the literary community as an editor, having co-founded the imprint Smith & Taylor Classics with fellow editor Allison Miriam Woodnutt, dedicated to publishing lesser-known works by acclaimed authors.