Rickey Fayne

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Shalicia Johnson

A close-up of Rickey Fayne.

Rickey Fayne

Rickey Fayne is an important new voice in American fiction. Originally from west Tennessee, Fayne, with a master of fine arts in fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, has burst on the scene with his first novel, The Devil Three Times. It recounts the story of Yetunde, a young woman on a slave ship headed for America, and her deal with the devil. Fayne draws on oral and spiritual traditions in the Black diaspora for this tale. He’ll be in conversation with Ainehi Ejieme Edoro of the UW-Madison English department in this Wisconsin Book Festival event.

Wisconsin Book Festival: Discussing "The Devil Three Times," new novel, with Ainehi Ejieme Edoro.

media release: Yetunde awakens aboard a slave ship en route to the United States with the spirit of her dead sister as her only companion. Desperate to survive the hell that awaits her at their destination, Yetunde finds help in an unexpected form—the Devil himself. The Devil, seeking a way to reenter the pearly gates of heaven, decides to prove himself to an indifferent God by protecting Yetunde and granting her a piece of his supernatural power. In return, Yetunde makes an incredible sacrifice.  

Their bargain extends far beyond Yetunde’s mortal lifespan. Over the next 175 years, the Devil visits Yetunde’s descendants in their darkest hour of need: Lucille, a conjure woman; Asa, who passes for white; Louis and Virgil, who risk becoming a twentieth-century Cain and Abel; Cassandra, who speaks to the dead; James, who struggles to make sense of the past while fighting to keep his family together; and many others. The Devil offers each of them his own version of salvation, all the while wondering: can he save himself, too?  

Steeped in the spiritual traditions and oral history of the Black diaspora, The Devil Three Times is a baptism by fire and water, heralding a new voice in American fiction.

Rickey Fayne is a fiction writer from rural West Tennessee whose work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Guernica, The Sewanee Review, and The Kenyon Review, among other magazines. He holds an MA in English from Northwestern University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. His writing embodies his Black, Southern upbringing in order to reimagine and honor his ancestors’ experiences.