Chiyuma Elliott is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. A former Stegner Fellow, Elliott has published in the African American Review, Callaloo, Notre Dame Review, PN Review, and other journals. She has received fellowships from the American Philosophical Society, Cave Canem, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her first book, CALIFORNIA WINTER LEAGUE, won the 2014 Unicorn Press Editor's Choice award. VIGIL is her second book.