After graduating, Flournoy taught writing for the University of Iowa, Trinity Washington University, and the DC Public Library.[4][6] She published The Turner House in 2015.[7]The New York Times called it "an engrossing and remarkably mature first novel...assured and memorable."[8]BuzzFeed describes Flournoy as "the most lauded debut novelist in America," noting her many awards and honors, as well as The Turner House's strong sales: "According to Bookscan, which tracks around 70% of U.S. book sales, her book has sold over 15,000 copies in paperback and hardcover as of April [2016]; anything over 10,000 is generally considered high for literary fiction."[9]
In 2020 she was scheduled to go on a State Department-sponsored reading tour of Germany. Flournoy canceled at short notice amid tensions with Iran and published a justification in The New Yorker.[10]