Caryl Phillips.

Caryl Phillips was born on 13 March 1958 in St. Kitts, then part of the British West Indies. He attended King Edward VI King’s Norton School for Boys and later studied at The Queen’s College. His early education in Britain shaped his literary voice, grounding him in both Caribbean heritage and British intellectual traditions.

Phillips wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film The Mystic Masseur, an adaptation of V.S. Naipaul's novel, and produced the television series The Final Passage 1996. His earlier television work Playing Away 1987 established him as a screenwriter exploring themes of race and identity. He wrote novels and plays, earning the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. At Barnard College, he taught literature and creative writing before becoming Professor of English at Yale University.

Caryl Phillips holds citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis. He has lived in the United States for much of his career, teaching at Barnard College in New York City and later at Yale University. His family and relationships are not widely publicized. His Caribbean birth and British education influenced his work.

Caryl Phillips wrote incisive novels and screenplays that examine the African diaspora and postcolonial identity. His awards include the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Liège. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a professor at Yale, he has mentored a generation of writers. His works The Mystic Masseur and The Final Passage remain prominent.