| Is |
Writer Novelist |
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| From | Ghana | ||
| Type | Literature | ||
| Gender | male | ||
| Birth |
Accra, Ghana |
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| Education |
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| Notable Works |
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Kwei Quartey is a Ghanaian-American detective fiction novelist and a retired surgeon. For about 20 years practising medicine he worked simultaneously as a writer. He balanced both activities by writing in the early mornings of the day before going to the clinic.
Kwei Quartey studied medicine at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He begun practising in 1990 with HealthCare Partners in California. While working at the facility as an urgent care physician he founded the facility’s wound care center.
As a writer, he made the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List in 2009 for his book Wife of the Gods. A year later, he was awarded Best Male Author by the G.O.G. National Book Club. He is also a top 100 African American Literature Book Club bestselling author, making the list four times. Kwei Quartey has published a number fictional books over the years, he is also a member of the Los Angeles branch of the Sisters in Crime, a fiction writers’ organization.
Early life and education
Quartey was born to a Ghanaian father and an African American mother both of whom were university lecturers. He drew his inspiration in writing from the many books that filled his house at a very young age and wrote his first novel when he was about eight (8) or nine (9) years of age. As a teenager, his passion shifted to medicine and he begun to pursue his dream profession (doctor) from high school level. He studied at the Accra Academy prior to entering the University of Ghana Medical School for his medical training. His studies at the University of Ghana came to an abrupt end when his mother decided to return to the United States with the family following the death of his father. He subsequently gained admission to study at Howard University where he trained to as a medical doctor. After graduating his residency training in Internal Medicine, Kwei joined the University of California Los Angeles where he took an extension course in creative writing.
List of works
Novels
- Wife of the Gods (2009). ISBN 1410419797
- Children of the Street: An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery (2011). ISBN 0679604111
- Death at the Voyager Hotel (2014). ISBN 9964705220
- Murder at Cape Three Points (2014). ISBN 9781616953898
- Gold of Our Fathers (2016). ISBN 1616956305
- Death by His Grace (2017). ISBN 1616957085
- The Missing American (2020). ISBN 1641290714