Benz ARTS

Chanelle Benz is a British American writer and an associate professor of English at Syracuse University in New York. Born in London to parents of English and Antiguan heritage, Benz lived in London until the age of seven before her family relocated to various locations in the United States, including New Jersey, Utah, and Virginia. She pursued higher education at Boston University, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in acting. Later, she returned to Syracuse University to earn a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in 2012, studying under the renowned author George Saunders.

Benz gained recognition for her 2017 short story collection, "The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead." Her debut novel, "The Gone Dead," was published in 2019. This novel explores the story of a woman returning to her ancestral home in the Mississippi Delta and uncovering secrets about her father's demise. Both of her published books were released by Ecco Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. Benz has also contributed her writing to various literary publications, including Granta, The New York Times, Guernica, Fence, and The American Reader.