Tess Chakkalakal is a professor of Africana Studies and English at Bowdoin College who is known for her work as an American biographer and writer.
Chakkalakal has a B.A. from the University of Toronto, and she earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. from York University. As of 2025, she is a professor of Africana Studies and English at Bowdoin College.She previously taught at Williams College, Bowling Green State University, and Texas A & M International University
She is co-host and creator of Dead Writers: A Podcast About Great American Authors and Where They Lived.