--- description: Find out why Percival Everett is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Percival Everett: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4f9ddc33fca4719/6998c5c59fbc7c56a2d99fed/time100-2025-percival-everett.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Percival Everett by Cord Jefferson  His work triumphed at the Oscars, but the Booker-shortlisted author Percival Everett isn't interested in acclaim. He talks to the Guardian about race, taking on Mark Twain and why there's nothing worse than preaching to the choir. Percival Everett in his studio in LA March 11th 2024 Dylan Coulter / Guardian / eyevine Contact eyevine for more information about using this image: T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709 E: info@eyevine.com http://www.eyevine.com His work triumphed at the Oscars, but the Booker-shortlisted author Percival Everett isn't interested in acclaim. He talks to the Guardian about race, taking on Mark Twain and why there's nothing worse than preaching to the choir. Percival Everett in his studio in LA March 11th 2024 Dylan Coulter / Guardian / eyevine Contact eyevine for more information about using this image: T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709 E: info@eyevine.com http://www.eyevine.comDylan Coulter—Guardian/eyevine/Redux There’s a moment that may surprise you reading Percival Everett’s [novel _James_](https://time.com/7210599/percival-everett-james-literary-canon/ "undefined")_,_ a reimagining of Huck Finn’s Black sidekick and their treacherous journey to freedom. It’s the moment when you take a break from laughing hysterically to realize you’re laughing at a book about slavery. Many writers are afraid to insert levity in stories of tragedy, particularly stories of violent prejudice. But _James,_ which won the National Book Award, shows that to omit joy is to do a disservice to the people who endured those tragedies—people who, despite their circumstances, always found ways to fall in love, have children, create art, and, indeed, laugh. There’s a lesson in there about how to write, but there’s also one about how to live. Percival is a writer, painter, musician, equestrian, fly fisherman, mathematician, father, husband, and professor. It would all be annoying if I didn’t learn so much from him—chiefly that life is long, arduous, and unfair, but it’s always worth living. _Jefferson, a director and writer, won an Oscar for his screenplay of_ American Fiction, _his adaptation of Everett’s book_ Erasure ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273803/percival-everett/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273803/percival-everett/"},"headline":"Percival Everett","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:46:16.811Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273803/percival-everett/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100Titans2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4f9ddc33fca4719/6998c5c59fbc7c56a2d99fed/time100-2025-percival-everett.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf4f9ddc33fca4719/6998c5c59fbc7c56a2d99fed/time100-2025-percival-everett.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273803/percival-everett/","name":"Percival Everett"}}]}] ```