Tameka Cage Conley

Tameka Cage Conley serves as Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University, bringing expertise in African American fiction and creative writing developed through advanced training at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Louisiana State University.

Her academic credentials include:

• Bachelor of Arts, Dillard University (1999)
• Doctor of Philosophy, Louisiana State University (2006)
• Master of Fine Arts, Iowa Writers' Workshop (2018)

Conley's creative scholarship critically examines African American identity, historical trauma, and gender through multiple mediums. Her dissertation 'Painful Discourses' analyzed representations of female circumcision across the African diaspora, while her current novel 'You, Your Father' constructs an epic family saga exploring systemic violence against Black men across six decades of American history. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges literary fiction with social commentary.

Her major honors include the New York Festivals Bronze Medal for opera libretto 'A Gathering of Sons' and recognition from The Pittsburgh Foundation. Additional distinctions reflect her standing in the literary community:

• Truman Capote Fellowship
• Provost Postgraduate Visiting Writer Fellowship in Fiction
• Cave Canem Foundation Fellowship
• Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship
• Squaw Valley Community of Writers Fellowship
• Vermont Studio Center Fellowship
• Huel Perkins Doctoral Fellowship
• Eben Demarest Trust Award (2013)
• Pushcart Poetry Prize Nominee (2012)
• Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Award Nominee (2012)
• Lewis Simpson Distinguished Dissertation Award (2007)

Conley actively shapes emerging writers through courses including Introduction to Creative Writing and Introduction to Fiction Writing, while her forthcoming novel excerpt in The Iowa Review (Spring 2021) demonstrates ongoing creative production.