Generation X (1965–1980)

By Howard Rambsy II

Generation X, also known as Gen Xers, are people born between 1965 and 1980. Several talented and award-winning novelists emerged from this generation, including Colson Whitehead (b. 1969), Edwidge Danticat (b. 1969), Marlon Jones (b. 1970), N. K. Jemisin (b. 1972), Zadie Smith (b. 1975), Jesmyn Ward (b. 1977), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (b. 1977), to name some of the more prominent novelists of the generation.

Many Gen Xers were deeply influenced by the creation and rise of hip hop music and culture. Just as important, movies and television, and developments in technology shaped the worldviews of novelists who came of age and pursued careers as writers during the 1990s and early 2000s.