Training School for Negro Girls

Camille Acker

2018-10 · The Feminist Press at CUNY

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“Funny, poignant, stirring and heartbreaking . . . This book is our collective coming-of-age story . . . required reading for your favorite Black girl.” —Essence

In her debut short story collection, Camille Acker unleashes the irony and tragic comedy of respectability onto a wide-ranging cast of characters, all of whom call Washington, DC, home. A “woke” millennial tries to fight gentrification, only to learn she’s part of the problem; a grade school teacher dreams of a better DC, only to take out her frustrations on her students; and a young piano player wins a competition, only to learn the prize is worthless. 

Ultimately, they are confronted with the fact that respectability does not equal freedom. Instead, they must learn to trust their own conflicted judgment and fight to create their own sense of space and self.

“An exciting literary achievement by a significant emerging talent. This flawlessly executed work reinvigorates the short fiction genre.” —BUST

“Acker navigates her characters’ lives with humor, heart, and grace. I loved these stories.” —Lisa Ko, award-winning author of The Leavers
 
“The lives of the girls and women featured in these stories are rendered with tremendous warmth, humor, and care . . . a wonderful debut.” —Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man
 
“A timely, welcome book.” —The Millions
 
“It’s hard to believe this brilliant collection of stories is a debut, so beautifully does Camille Acker navigate difficult fictional terrain and complicated themes, including issues like gentrification, race, and ‘respectability’ politics.” —Nylon

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Camille Acker grew up in Washington, DC. She holds a B.A. in English from Howard University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from New Mexico State University. Her writing has received support from the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Voices of Our Nations Arts, and Millay Colony for the Arts, among others. She was a fiction co-editor for Dismantle: An Anthology from the VONA/Voices Workshop (Thread Makes Blanket Press 2014). Her writing has appeared in a number of outlets including The New York Times Book Review, LitHub, Publishers Weekly, Electric Literature, VICE, and DAME Magazine. She currently lives in Philadelphia.