Stephen Graham Jones Explained

Stephen Graham Jones
Birth Date:22 January 1972
Birth Place:Midland, Texas, U.S.
Occupation:Writer, Ineva Baldwin Professor of English at University of Colorado
Genre:Horror fiction
Notable Works:The Only Good Indians
My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Night of the Mannequins
Don't Fear the Reaper
Spouse:Nancy Jones
Children:2

Stephen Graham Jones (born January 22, 1972) is a Blackfeet Native American author of experimental fiction, horror fiction,[1] crime fiction, and science fiction.[2] [3] His works include the horror novels The Only Good Indians, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, and Night of the Mannequins.

Jones is the Ineva Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado, where he has been a faculty member since 2008.[4] [5]

Background

Stephen Graham Jones was born in Midland, Texas, on January 22, 1972, to Dennis Jones and Rebecca Graham.[6] He is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana.[7]

Jones's enthusiasm for reading began at the early age of 11; however, as a boy he had aspirations to be a farmer, never a teacher or a writer. After completing a semester of college, Jones decided to continue to pursue his degree while still having the intention to return to a manual labor job post-grad.[8]  

Jones received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Texas Tech University in 1994, a Master of Arts in English from the University of North Texas in 1996, and his Ph.D. in 1998 from Florida State University.[9]

After graduating with his Ph.D. in 1998, Jones worked in a warehouse in Texas until a back injury sentenced him to a desk job. Jones worked at the Texas Tech Library until going on to teach at Texas Tech University and the University of West Texas.[10]

Writing career

While he was attending Florida State University, Jones's dissertation director introduced him to Houghton-Mifflin editor Jane Silver at the Writers' Harvest conference. Jones pitched her a novel which he had not yet written, and Silver liked the idea. Jones then wrote the book, The Fast Red Road, as his dissertation. It was published as his debut novel in 2000.[11] It was followed by All the Beautiful Sinners in 2003.

In 2002, Jones won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in fiction.[12] In 2006, he won the Jesse Jones Award for Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters for his 2005 short story collection Bleed into Me.[13] He won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction for Mapping the Interior in 2017.[14]

The Only Good Indians, a horror novel, was published on July 14, 2020, through Saga Press and Titan Books.[15] It won the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction in 2020.[16] Jones won two 2020 Bram Stoker Awards for Night of the Mannequins and The Only Good Indians.[17]

Jones contributed an X-Men story to Marvel Comics' Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 anthology, release in November 2020. Joining him was artist David Cutler.[18]

Themes and style

Jones has acknowledged a debt to Native American Renaissance writers, especially Gerald Vizenor.[19] Scholar Cathy Covell Waegner describes Jones's work as containing elements of "dark playfulness, narrative inventiveness, and genre mixture."[19] Jones also cites the novels of Louis L'Amour as an influence on his development as a writer, stating that "For better or worse, those pulp westerns are now part of my DNA as a writer."[20]

Joseph Gaudet cited Jones' writing as "post-ironic" or representative of David Foster Wallace's "New Sincerity," a literary approach "emerging in response to the cynicism, detachment, and alienation that many saw as defining the postmodern canon," seeking instead "to more patently embrace morality, sincerity, and an 'ethos of belief.'[21] His eighth novel, Ledfeather, which Jones stated was the most widely taught of his books,[22] is used as Gaudet's primary example.

Jones has a natural inclination towards the sentimental and speculates that the dark and chilling nature of his writing is an overcorrection on his part. Jones enjoys the constant escalation of the bizarre but uses humor to release building pressure in order to build anticipation once more for the reader. Jones’ novels can be described as Native American Gothic, or Rez Gothic: a niche publishing genre characterized as using fantasy, science fiction and horror to shed light on racial inequalities such as the one referenced through Jones’ novel title The Only Good Indians.[23]

Personal life

Jones and his wife Nancy married on May 20, 1995. They have two children together.

Jones resides in Boulder, Colorado with his wife, son and daughter. He teaches at the University of Colorado as the Ineva Reilly Baldwin Endowed Chair. Jones enjoys returning to northern Montana in July to attend the Blackfeet Nation Pow Wow and in November for the annual Montana Blackfeet elk hunt. This annual elk hunt inspired Jones’ novel The Only Good Indians.[24]

Awards

Awards for Jones's writing[25] !Year!Title!Award!C!Result!Ref.
2007"Raphael"Short Fiction
2009Novella
2010"Lonegan's Luck"Novelette
2011Bram Stoker AwardFiction Collection[26]
Collection
2015After the People Lights Have Gone Off Bram Stoker AwardFiction Collection[27]
Collection
2016MongrelsBram Stoker AwardNovel[28]
2017Mapping the InteriorBram Stoker AwardLong Fiction[29] [30]
MongrelsHorror Novel
Novel
Novelette
2018Mapping the InteriorNovel
World Fantasy AwardNovella
2020Night of the MannequinsBram Stoker AwardLong Fiction[31] [32]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovella[33] [34]
Bram Stoker AwardNovel[35] [36]
Los Angeles Times Book PrizeRay Bradbury Prize
Novel
2021My Heart Is a ChainsawBram Stoker AwardNovel[37] [38]
Night of the MannequinsShirley Jackson AwardNovella
British Fantasy AwardHorror Novel
Horror Novel
Adult Novel
World Fantasy AwardNovel
Horror Novel
"Wait for Night"Locus AwardShort Story
2022My Heart Is a ChainsawHorror Novel
Horror Novel
Locus AwardHorror Novel
Novel[39] [40]
2023Don't Fear the ReaperBram Stoker AwardNovel
Shirley Jackson AwardNovel
2024British Fantasy AwardHorror Novel[41]
Locus AwardHorror Novel

Selected works

Books

Under the pseudonym P. T. Jones

Short stories

Comics

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stephen Graham Jones on writing horror and its inverse, romance. Los Angeles Times. February 24, 2015. April 11, 2014. February 25, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150225035919/http://articles.latimes.com/2014/apr/11/entertainment/la-et-jc-stephen-graham-jones-festival-of-books-20140410. live.
  2. Web site: Interview: Stephen Graham Jones on The Weird - Weird Fiction Review. Weird Fiction Review. February 24, 2015. January 16, 2012. April 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190406175427/http://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/01/interview-stephen-graham-jones-on-the-weird/. live.
  3. Web site: Jones . Stephen Graham . Stephen Graham Jones – doesn't understand milk-drinking . Demon Theory.net . September 6, 2010 . March 16, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190316104442/http://www.demontheory.net/ . live .
  4. Web site: June 19, 2018. Stephen Graham Jones. October 8, 2021. English. en. October 8, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211008234244/https://www.colorado.edu/english/stephen-graham-jones. live.
  5. Web site: Texas Archival Resources Online. November 22, 2021. txarchives.org. November 22, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211122205927/https://txarchives.org/ttusw/finding_aids/60226.xml. live.
  6. Web site: Jones, Stephen Graham 1972- . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221002025707/https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/jones-stephen-graham-1972 . October 2, 2022 . March 4, 2023 . Encyclopedia.com.
  7. Web site: Cosel . Pamela . October 22, 2020 . Texas Book Festival names Midland native Stephen Graham Jones winner of the Texas Writer Award . March 8, 2021 . Round Rock Living . March 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220328074210/https://www.roundrockliving.net/round-rock-news/texas-book-festival-names-midland-native-stephen-graham-jones-winner-of-the-texas-writer-award/ . live .
  8. Web site: MacDonald . Jay . April 20, 2021 . Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones . The Montana Review.
  9. Web site: Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library . October 12, 2021 . . October 20, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211020170209/https://swco.ttu.edu/Sowell/SGJ.php . live .
  10. Web site: Press . Montana . 2021-04-20 . Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones . 2024-05-01 . Montana Press . en.
  11. Web site: Interview with Stephen Graham Jones by Amy Patterson. October 8, 2018 . November 17, 2021. November 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211117071133/http://www.negativecapabilitypress.org/blog/2018/10/8/0ap74gmg8espqavvtcm68bozemh2rs. live.
  12. Web site: Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: Stephen Jones . National Endowment for the Arts . April 28, 2021 . April 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210428175403/https://www.arts.gov/impact/literary-arts/creative-writing-fellows/stephen-jones . live .
  13. Web site: 1936-2021 Texas Institute of Letters: Awards . Texas Institute of Letters . April 28, 2021 . March 3, 2021 . April 28, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210428175403/https://www.texasinstituteofletters.org/archives/TIL-awards-complete-history.pdf . live .
  14. Web site: 2017 Bram Stoker Award® Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards. en. August 8, 2019. August 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190809225336/http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2017-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/. live.
  15. Book: Jones, Stephen Graham . The only good Indians : a novel . Gallery / Saga Press . 2020 . 9781-9821-3645-1 . New York, New York . 1105935531.
  16. Web site: Pineda. Dorany. April 17, 2021. Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced. live. April 17, 2021. Los Angeles Times. en-US. April 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417011609/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-04-16/winners-of-the-2020-l-a-times-book-prizes-announced.
  17. Web site: The Bram Stoker Awards 2020 . April 28, 2021 . June 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210603210837/http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/the-bram-stoker-awards-2020/ . live .
  18. Web site: Marvel's Voices Expands with 'Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices' #1. August 22, 2020. Marvel Entertainment. en. August 23, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200823080730/https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/marvels-voices-expands-with-marvels-voices-indigenous-voices. live.
  19. View of Consuming, Incarcerating, and "Transmoting" Misery: Border Practice in Vizenor's Bearheart and Jones's the Fast Red Road | Transmotion . 2017 . 10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.218 . Waegner . Cathy Covell . Transmotion . 3 . 2 . 1–29 . September 14, 2018 . September 14, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180914132308/https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/transmotion/article/view/218/1126 . live .
  20. News: Bas . Borja . Stephen Graham Jones: The horror novel helps settle scores for the massacre of American Indians . 9 July 2024 . EL PAÍS English . 20 November 2023 . en-us.
  21. Gaudet . Joseph . I Remember You: Postironic Belief and Settler Colonialism in Stephen Graham Jones's Ledfeather . 1 . 21 . Studies in American Indian Literatures . 2016 . 28 . October 8, 2018 . 10.5250/studamerindilite.28.1.0021 . 156727460 . February 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220222203339/https://www.academia.edu/25351034 . live .
  22. Web site: Wilson . Michael . One Month of Reading Stephen Graham Jones: A Primer . LitReactor . October 8, 2018 . October 8, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181008214129/https://litreactor.com/columns/one-month-of-reading-stephen-graham-jones-a-primer . live .
  23. Web site: 2013-10-11 . Wonderbook Interview with Stephen Graham Jones . 2024-05-01 . Wonderbook . en-US.
  24. Web site: Press . Montana . 2021-04-20 . Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones . 2024-05-01 . Montana Press . en.
  25. Web site: Stephen Graham Jones Awards . March 4, 2023 . Science Fiction Awards Database . December 3, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203102446/http://sfadb.com/Stephen_Graham_Jones . live .
  26. Web site: 2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220604035809/https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2010-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ . June 4, 2022 . June 21, 2022 . The Bram Stoker Awards . en-US.
  27. Web site: May 10, 2015 . 2014 Bram Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709060735/https://locusmag.com/2015/05/2014-bram-stoker-winners/ . July 9, 2022 . July 9, 2022 . . en-US.
  28. Web site: 2016 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613124055/https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2016-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ . June 13, 2022 . June 21, 2022 . The Bram Stoker Awards . en-US.
  29. Web site: March 5, 2018 . 2017 Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706113604/https://locusmag.com/2018/03/2017-stoker-awards-winners/ . July 6, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  30. Web site: March 5, 2018 . Announcing the 2017 Bram Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201128062257/https://www.tor.com/2018/03/05/announcing-the-2017-bram-stoker-award-winners/ . November 28, 2020 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  31. Web site: Templeton . Molly . June 1, 2021 . Announcing the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210707081314/https://www.tor.com/2021/06/01/announcing-the-2020-bram-stoker-awards-winners/ . July 7, 2021 . July 6, 2022 . Tor.com.
  32. Web site: May 24, 2021 . 2020 Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220811054146/https://locusmag.com/2021/05/2020-stoker-awards-winners/ . August 11, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  33. Web site: August 16, 2021 . Shirley Jackson Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221018221632/https://locusmag.com/2021/08/shirley-jackson-awards-winners-3/ . October 18, 2022 . March 2, 2023 . . en-US.
  34. Web site: Liptak . Andrew . August 16, 2021 . Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Shirley Jackson Awards! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812221558/https://www.tor.com/2021/08/16/shirley-jackson-awards-2020-winners-readercon-announcement/ . August 12, 2022 . March 2, 2023 . Tor.com . en-US.
  35. Web site: Templeton . Molly . June 1, 2021 . Announcing the 2020 Bram Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210707081314/https://www.tor.com/2021/06/01/announcing-the-2020-bram-stoker-awards-winners/ . July 7, 2021 . July 6, 2022 . Tor.com.
  36. Web site: May 24, 2021 . 2020 Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220811054146/https://locusmag.com/2021/05/2020-stoker-awards-winners/ . August 11, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  37. Web site: May 15, 2022 . 2021 Stoker Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220704225039/https://locusmag.com/2022/05/2021-stoker-awards-winners/ . July 4, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  38. Web site: Armstrong . Vanessa . May 17, 2022 . Congratulations to the 2021 Bram Stoker Awards Winners! . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220628103007/https://www.tor.com/2022/05/17/congratulations-to-the-2021-bram-stoker-awards-winners/ . June 28, 2022 . July 6, 2022 . . en-US.
  39. Web site: October 31, 2022 . 2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130104549/https://locusmag.com/2022/10/2021-shirley-jackson-awards-winners/ . November 30, 2022 . March 2, 2023 . . en-US.
  40. Web site: October 31, 2022 . 2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130104549/https://locusmag.com/2022/10/2021-shirley-jackson-awards-winners/ . November 30, 2022 . March 2, 2023 . Locus Online . en-US.
  41. Web site: Locus Magazine. 2024-11-23. 2024 British Fantasy Awards Winners. 14 October 2024.
  42. Web site: Liptak. Andrew. February 22, 2021. Here Are the 2020 Bram Stoker Award Nominees. March 23, 2021. Tor.com. en-US. May 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506222116/https://www.tor.com/2021/02/22/here-are-the-2020-bram-stoker-award-nominees/. live.
  43. Web site: Gayen . Sayantan . Review: IDW Publishing's Earthdivers #1 . . Valnet Inc. . August 25, 2022 . September 7, 2022 . September 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220907184045/https://www.cbr.com/idw-publishing-earthdivers-1-review/ . live .
  44. Web site: Dear Final Girls . jolyonbyates.com.

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