Percival Everett is the author of over 30 books since his debut, Suder, was released in 1983. His modern classics include I Am Not Sidney Poitier, So Much Blue, Glyph, and The Trees. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches at University of Southern California. Everett was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 with his novel Telephone. He received the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Book Critics Circle Awards 2022, the PEN America Award for Dr. No in 2023, and the National Book Award for James in 2024.
“Watershed has all the makings of a social thriller. Everett keeps the storytelling terse and intense, while at the same time broadening the scope of the book, moving into the history of US Indian treaty making and into the science behind the search for water and the pathos of reservation life. In this novel about water and the struggle for a life free of injustice, the mix doesn’t just work, it flows.” —Alan Cheuse, NPR “Precise and important, Watershed is a book about honesty, and how to live with dignity in the presence of betrayal. It is a story we need; it contains a code of action for the present and unfortunately for the near future. It is mercifully funny, as well.” —Rick Bass, author of Where the Sea Used to Be Praise for Percival Everett: “Percival Everett has made a career out of flouting expectations.” —Los Angeles Times “Funny, insightful, and unpredictable . . . Everett is a master of his trade.” —Time Out Chicago “Everett’s talent is multifaceted, sparked by a satiric brilliance that could place him alongside Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison.” —Publishers Weekly “Everett’s books are unfailingly intelligent and funny, formally bold and intellectually ambitious.” —LA Weekly