About Chris
Christopher Chambers is a Washington, D.C. native, a lecturer at Georgetown University, Chair of the International Conflict Resolution Center, and is General Counsel to a not-for-profit benefiting small colleges and HBCUs: Student Housing of America. He’s currently President of Mystery Writers of America-Middle Atlantic Chapter, a board of directors member for Bouchercon: World Mystery Convention, and Private Eye Writers of America.
Award winners: Chris’ noir hardboiled mystery, Scavenger (2020), won a starred review and profile in Publishers Weekly and nominated for a Shamus and Anthony Awards; the sequel, Standalone, sees the return of the indestructible homeless addict-turned-PI, Dickie Cornish, patrolling the unforgiving city streets ravaged by COVID. The Strand Magazine hailed it as one of the Top Mystery Novels of 2022 and Chris as “the modern heir to Chandler, Woolrich and Cain.”
Dickie Cornish, Detective
The third in the trilogy, StreetWhys, was feted by top literary podcasts and bestselling authors Eli Cranor, SJ Rozan, Gary Phillips, I.S. Berry and Tracy Clark. Chris was a finalist in 2008 for the PEN/Malamud Short Story Award for “Leviathan,” and his first hardcover thriller for Random House, Sympathy for the Devil was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.
Bestselling Author: The author of more than 16 books, Chris has written the Angela Bivens thriller series for Random House, The Rocket Crockett pulp noir series, and Black Pulp for Prose-Press, and editor, along with Gary Phillips, of The Darker Mask graphic short story collection, the Bronze Buckaroo Rides Again: Honoring Harlem’s Herb Jeffries. Chris has collaborated or been a story advisor on graphic novel scripts for Dark Horse, Archaia and Monstrous Books.
He also contributed short stories to: The Obama Inheritance: 15 Stories of Conspiracy Noir (Three Rooms Press), which won the Anthony Award; and The Black Panther: Tales Of Wakanda. His latest Marvel contribution is He’s provided stories to The Faking of the President and Midnight Hour, Witnesses for the Dead with Gar Anthony Haywood — all award-winning collections and bestsellers. Chris
Chambers Noir: Coming in July is a new podcast and video show — on Inkandescent Radio, Spotify, Apple, iHeart Radio and ChrisChambers.tv — where he’ll share tips, techniques, and trade secrets about taking a story from an idea to a published piece. And, he’ll be interviewing a few of his favorite writers about the art of being a novelist. Don’t miss it!
Check out the newest title in Chris’ Dickie Cornish series: StreetWhys Published April 15, 2025: In this latest novel we again meet Washington, DC’s notorious detective, former street denizen Dickie Cornish, who faces off with bloodthirsty cops and the justice department. Underground detective Dickie Cornish faces a vindictive murder rap from his past if he doesn’t agree to help prove that the fentanyl ravaging the streets of DC is bankrolled by shadowy donors of a certain former president. Broke and desperate, Cornish soon finds himself on a collision course with shady public defenders and corrupt police officers, forcing him to use his street connections to flip their plan. Or die. Chambers’s Dickie Cornish series has met with widespread critical acclaim. Publishers Weekly dubbed the series debut, Scavenger, “[A] no-holds-barred crime novel…a 21st-century twist on traditional hardboiled noir.” The Strand Magazine selected Standalone, the second book in the series, as one of the “Top 25 Mystery Novels of the Year,” adding, “It’s apparent that the modern heir to Chandler, Woolrich, and Cain is Christopher Chambers, enough said.” And renowned crime author George Pelecanos raves that the series “really nails Washington, DC in the current environment.” Click here to buy the book.
The second in the series is Published Oct. 18, 2022: In the lively, but desperate world of D.C.’s underbelly, a Black homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after a wealthy ex-government official sets him up to take the fall for a brutal crime he didn’t commit. Christopher Chambers, author of A Prayer for Deliverance and Sympathy for the Devil (NAACP Image Award nominee) brings a 21st-century take on hardboiled noir tales in SCAVENGER, a gripping thriller underscored by themes of race, homelessness, hustling, and the savagery—and salvation—of the human psyche. The novel centers on Dickie Cornish, a Black streetwise survivor living in a homeless camp near D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Framed for the murder of two of his closest friends and facing life in prison, Dickie crosses paths with wealthy ex-Homeland Security Secretary, Jamie Bracht. Bracht offers him a chance at a new life if Dickie can navigate an underground world to uncover a prize Bracht will stop at nothing to acquire. As Dickie searches, SCAVENGER tracks its way through an underground population of Washington, D.C., where hustlers, drug addicts, homeless, and undocumented immigrants jostle for crumbs while trying to survive. Chambers paints a portrait of D.C. from the ground up, with back-alley streetscapes, gentrification clashes, and unexpected encounters between politicians and bottom-rung natives—all set against a soundscape of patois, street Spanish, and D.C. slang. A hopeless amateur detective at first, Dickie quickly learns the ropes of being a sleuth in a cat-and-mouse game of greed, deceit, double-crossing, and murder. As Washington City Paper notes: “Like Hammett with San Francisco or Chandler with Los Angeles, Chambers’ mystery is as much about Washington as it is about the amoral monsters who prey on ordinary people and the lone gumshoe who takes them on.” Check it out.
The first in the series is Published Oct. 13, 2020: In the lively, but desperate world of D.C.’s underbelly, a Black homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after a wealthy ex-government official sets him up to take the fall for a brutal crime he didn’t commit.Christopher Chambers, author of A Prayer for Deliverance and Sympathy for the Devil (NAACP Image Award nominee) brings a 21st-century take on hardboiled noir tales in SCAVENGER, a gripping thriller underscored by themes of race, homelessness, hustling, and the savagery—and salvation—of the human psyche. The novel centers on Dickie Cornish, a Black streetwise survivor living in a homeless camp near D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Framed for the murder of two of his closest friends and facing life in prison, Dickie crosses paths with wealthy ex-Homeland Security Secretary, Jamie Bracht. Bracht offers him a chance at a new life if Dickie can navigate an underground world to uncover a prize Bracht will stop at nothing to acquire. As Dickie searches, SCAVENGER tracks its way through an underground population of Washington, D.C., where hustlers, drug addicts, homeless, and undocumented immigrants jostle for crumbs while trying to survive. Chambers paints a portrait of D.C. from the ground up, with back-alley streetscapes, gentrification clashes, and unexpected encounters between politicians and bottom-rung natives—all set against a soundscape of patois, street Spanish, and D.C. slang. A hopeless amateur detective at first, Dickie quickly learns the ropes of being a sleuth in a cat-and-mouse game of greed, deceit, double-crossing, and murder. As Washington City Paper notes: “Like Hammett with San Francisco or Chandler with Los Angeles, Chambers’ mystery is as much about Washington as it is about the amoral monsters who prey on ordinary people and the lone gumshoe who takes them on.”
Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson Published Jan. 14, 2025: The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? Find out in these subversive, exciting and uplifting short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, written by celebrated Black authors. The new Captain America has a heavy shield to hold. As a Black man in America, Sam Wilson knows he has to be twice as good to get half as much credit. He must be a paragon of virtue for a nation that has mixed feelings towards him. In these thirteen brand-new stories, the all-new Captain America must thwart an insurrectionist plot, travel back in time, foil a racist conspiracy, and save the world over and over again. As the Falcon, Sam Wilson was the first African American super hero in mainstream comic books. Sam’s trials and tribulations reflect the struggles many Black Americans go through today, as Sam balances fighting supervillains and saving the world with the difficulties of being the first Black Captain America. This action-packed anthology inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, will see Sam team up with familiar friends like Steve Rogers, Redwing and Nomad, while fighting Hydra, Sabretooth, Kingpin, and other infamous villains. These are stories of death-defying courage, Black love and self-discovery. These are the stories of a super hero learning what it means to be a symbol. These are the stories of Sam Wilson. Featuring original stories by: Maurice Broaddus, Jesse J. Holland, Gar Anthony Haywood, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Kyoko M., Sheree Renee Thomas, Gary Phillips, Danian Jerry, Gloria J. Browne Marshall, Glenn Parris, Christopher Chambers, Alex Simmons. Click here to buy the book.
Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda
Published March 9, 2021: A ground-breaking anthology celebrating Marvel’s beloved Black Panther and his home of Wakanda. Eighteen short stories penned by an all-star cast of authors such as Sheree Renée Thomas and Nikki Giovanni. T’Challa faces the gods of his parents. Vampires stalk Shuri and a Dora Milaje in voodoo-laced New Orleans. Erik Killmonger grapples with racism, Russian spies, and his own origins. Eighteen brand-new tales of Wakanda, its people, and its legacy. The first mainstream superhero of African descent, the Black Panther has attracted readers of all races and colors who see in the King of Wakanda reflections of themselves. Storytellers from across the African Diaspora—some already literary legends, others who are rising stars—have created for this collection original works inspired by the world of the Panther and its inhabitants. With guest stars including Storm, Monica Rambeau, Namor, and Jericho Drumm, these are stories of yesterday and today, of science and magic, of faith and love. These are the tales of a king and his country. These are the legends whispered in the jungle, myths of the unconquered men and women and the land they love. These are the Tales of Wakanda. Featuring stories by: Linda D. Addison, Maurice Broaddus, Christopher Chambers, Milton J. Davis, Tananarive Due, Nikki Giovanni, Harlan James, Danian Jerry, Kyoko M., L.L. McKinney, Temi Oh, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Glenn Parris, Alex Simmons, Sheree Renée Thomas, Cadwell Turnbull and Troy L. Wiggins. Click here to buy the book!
Black Pulp I / Black Pulp II Published April 20, 2013: From Today’s Best Authors and up-and-coming writers comes BLACK PULP from Pro Se Productions! In this collection of stories featuring characters of African origin, or descent, in stories that run the gamut of genre fiction! A concept developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips, BLACK PULP brings bestselling authors Walter Mosley and Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles R. Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, D. Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael A. Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Tommy Hancock together to craft adventure tales, mysteries, and more, all with black characters at the forefront! Between these covers are 12 tales of action, adventure, and thrills featuring heroes and heroines of darker hues that will appeal to audiences everywhere! BLACK PULP! From Pro Se Productions! Click here to buy the book.
Published July 3, 2019: BLACK PULP returns with BLACK PULP II, a new volume of stories featuring characters of African origin, or descent, at the forefront. Developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips, BLACK PULP II brings together familiar authors and characters from the first anthology while introducing new creators and concepts crafting exciting new fiction with heroes of a darker hue. Between these covers are 12 new tales of action, adventures, and thrills presented by some of the most talented authors in New Pulp and Genre Fiction! Find all of Chris’ books for sale on Amazon.
Chris Chambers Noir: Coming in July is a new podcast and video show — on Inkandescent Radio, Spotify, Apple, iHeart Radio and ChrisChambers.tv — where he’ll share tips, techniques, and trade secrets about taking a story from an idea to a published piece. And, he’ll be interviewing a few of his favorite writers about the art of being a novelist. Don’t miss it! Click here to buy Chris’ books on Amazon.
