Dantiel W. Moniz

Dantiel W. Moniz is an American author known for her evocative short fiction exploring race, femininity, and family dynamics. She received critical acclaim for her debut collection, Milk Blood Heat (2021), which was on the shortlist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection. Moniz was named a National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" honoree.

Dantiel W. Moniz grew up in northeast Florida. In Milk Blood Heat, Moniz captures Florida's emotional and physical landscape. She describes the lives of women, girls and men facing moments of personal reckoning.

She explains, "I was most interested in capturing the quality of my state's heat, its presence and vibrancy, and how it affects the characters.

Moniz's work has appeared in prestigious literary publications such as The Paris Review, Harper's Bazaar, Tin House and American Short Fiction. Her stories often portray vivid and complex characters, particularly exploring the intricacies of black femininity against the backdrop of Florida's sultry environment. In discussing the recurring themes of her work, Moniz says, "I want to make [whiteness's] effect on the lived world, macro, micro, and everything in between, a little easier to see.

Moniz's achievements include the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction and fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, and The Lighthouse Works. Her stories have received critical acclaim and have been featured in leading book clubs, including Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club and the Belletrist Book Club.

Currently, Moniz is an assistant professor of fiction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she continues to influence the literary landscape by teaching and mentoring new generations of writers.

In her own words, Moniz advises her students, "Write for yourself and remember to protect that initial space that's just you and the work.

Photo: Elizabeth Pedinotti Haynes