Jamel Brinkley was raised in Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York City.
He graduated from Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he teaches.
[1][2][3] His first book, A Lucky Man, is set in New York City and explores themes of family relationships, love, loss, complex identity, and masculinity.
[6] Brinkley is an alumnus of the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and was also a Kimbilio Fellow in Fiction.
[7] He graduated with an MFA in creative writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.