Eric Jerome Dickey, bestselling author, dies aged 59

The Memphis-born author was reportedly ‘battling a long illness’, according to a rep

Eric Jerome Dickey, bestselling author, dies aged 59 (Getty Images)

Bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey, a leader in contemporary black literature, has died at age 59.

"It is with great sadness that we confirm that beloved New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey passed away on Sunday, 3 January, in Los Angeles after battling a long illness,” a rep for Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, confirmed to The New York Post.

Dickey's family also confirmed the news via Facebook. "I am heartbroken. My cousin, Eric Jerome Dickey passed away on yesterday,” La Verne Madison Fuller wrote on Facebook Monday (4 January). “Guys, when God tells you to do something, just do it. Just a few weeks ago, God woke me up to text him and say that I loved him. He let me know that he loved us too."

Dickey, who was born in Memphis, got his start in the mid 1990s, publishing his first short story in 1994 and releasing Sister, Sister in 1996. He was also well known for his novels Chasing Destiny, Liar's Game, and Pleasure, all of which were on The New York Times' bestseller list. More than seven million of his books have been published worldwide.

His latest novel, The Son of Mr Suleman, was scheduled to be released on 20 April of this year.

Tributes from prominent fans rolled in on social media. "I remember sneaking around with my copy of ‘Friends and Lovers’ in middle school like it was contraband,” journalist Wesley Lowery wrote on Twitter. "Secretly reading an Eric Jerome Dickey novel was a teenage right [sic] of passage for a generation of black Americans."

Author Roxanne Gay also chimed in with a tribute, writing on Twitter, "I am truly saddened to hear about the passing of Eric Jerome Dickey. His were some of the first novels I ever read about black people that weren’t about slavery or civil rights. He was a great storyteller."

In a 2019 interview with BookPage, Dickey offered new insight into his creative process. 

“I don’t intentionally write a book with an idea of ‘the moral to this story is,’ because I’m more focused on letting the people in the book live,” he said. "I just try to do my best. I never know if I’ve hit the nail on the head, if it’s really worked, until I put it out there for people to read.”