Stephen Graham Jones
Birth dateJanuary 22, 1972 (age 54)
Birth placeMidland, Texas, U.S.
OccupationWriter, Ineva Baldwin Professor of English at University of Colorado
Education
GenreHorror fiction
Notable works
SpouseNancy Jones

Stephen Graham Jones (born January 22, 1972) is an American author of experimental fiction, horror fiction,[1] crime fiction, and science fiction.[2][3][4] 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.[5][6]

Early life and education

Stephen Graham Jones was born in Midland, Texas, on January 22, 1972, to Dennis Jones and Rebecca Graham.[7] He is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12] It was followed by All the Beautiful Sinners in 2003.

In 2002, Jones won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in fiction.[13] 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.[14] He won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction for Mapping the Interior in 2017.[15]

The Only Good Indians, a horror novel, was published on July 14, 2020, through Saga Press and Titan Books. 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.[24]

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.[11]

Works

Novels and novellas

  • The Fast Red Road: A Plainsong. Fiction Collective 2. 2000. ISBN 9781573660884.
  • All the Beautiful Sinners. Rugged Land. 2003. ISBN 9781590710081.
  • The Bird Is Gone: A Manifesto. Fiction Collective 2. 2003. ISBN 9781573661096.
  • Seven Spanish Angels. Dzanc. 2005. ASIN B005D7V6NA.
  • Demon Theory. MacAdam/Cage. 2006. ISBN 9781596921641.
  • The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti. Chiasmus Press. 2008. ISBN 9780981502748.
  • Ledfeather. Fiction Collective 2. 2008. ISBN 9781573661461.
  • It Came from Del Rio. Trapdoor Books. 2010. ISBN 9781936500017.
  • The Ones Who Got Away. Prime Books. 2011. ISBN 9781607013211.
  • The Last Final Girl. Lazy Fascist Press. 2012. ISBN 9781621050513.
  • Growing Up Dead in Texas. MP Publishing Ltd. 2012. ISBN 9781849821544.
  • Zombie Bake-Off. Lazy Fascist. 2012. ISBN 9781621050193.
  • The Least of My Scars. Broken River Books. 2013. ISBN 9781940885001.
  • Flushboy. Dzanc Books. 2013. ISBN 9781938604171.
  • Not for Nothing. Dzanc Books. 2014. ISBN 9781938604539.
  • The Gospel of Z. Samhain. 2014. ISBN 9781619218116.
  • My Hero. Hex Publishers. 2016. ISBN 9780998666709.
  • Mongrels. HarperCollins Publishers. 2016. ISBN 9780062412690.
  • Mapping the Interior. Tor Books. 2017. ISBN 9780765395108.
  • Night of the Mannequins. Tor.com. 2020. ISBN 9781250752079.
  • The Only Good Indians. Saga, Simon & Schuster. 2020. ISBN 9781982136451.
  • The Indian Lake Trilogy
  • I Was a Teenage Slasher. Saga Press, Simon & Schuster. 2024. ISBN 9781668022245.
  • The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Saga Press, Simon & Schuster. 2025. ISBN 9781668075081.
  • Killer on the Road/The Babysitter Lives. Saga Doubles, Simon & Schuster. 2025. ISBN 9781982167677.
  • Off the Reservation. Saga Press, Simon & Schuster. 2026. ISBN 9781668225127.

Collections

  • Bleed into Me: A Book of Stories. Native Storiers: A series of American Narratives. University of Nebraska Press. 2005. ISBN 9780803226050.
  • Three Miles Past: Stories. Nightscape. 2013. ISBN 9781938644078.
  • Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth. Lazy Fascist. 2013. ISBN 9781621050995.
  • After the People Lights Have Gone Off. Dark House Press. 2014. ISBN 9781940430256.
  • States of Grace. SpringGun Press. 2014. ISBN 9780983221883.

Under the pseudonym P. T. Jones

  • Jones, P. T. & Tremblay, Paul G. (2014). Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn't Fly. ChiTeen, ChiZine Publications. ISBN 9781771481731.

Short stories

Comics

  • "Earthdivers". No. #1–16. IDW Publishing. October 2022–April 2024.[25]
  • "Dear Final Girls" (2019) art by Jolyon Yates, originally published in the Horror Special issue of Wicked Awesome tales edited by Todd Jones.[26]
  • Memorial Ride (2021) art by Maria Wolf. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826363237.[27]

Awards

Awards for Jones's writing
YearTitleAwardCategoryResultRef.
2008The Long Trial of Nolan DugattiShirley Jackson AwardNovella[28]
2009"Lonegan's Luck"Shirley Jackson AwardNovelette[29]
2010The Ones That Got AwayBram Stoker AwardFiction Collection[30]
Shirley Jackson AwardSingle-Author Collection[31]
2014After the People Lights Have Gone OffBram Stoker AwardFiction Collection[32]
Shirley Jackson AwardSingle-Author Collection[33]
2016MongrelsBram Stoker AwardNovel[34]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovel[35]
"The Night Cyclist"Shirley Jackson AwardNovelette[35]
2017Mapping the InteriorBram Stoker AwardLong Fiction[36]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovella[37]
MongrelsLocus AwardHorror Novel[38]
2018Mapping the InteriorWorld Fantasy AwardNovella[39]
2020Night of the MannequinsBram Stoker AwardLong Fiction[40]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovella[41]
The Only Good IndiansBram Stoker AwardNovel[40]
Goodreads Choice AwardHorror[42]
Ray Bradbury Prize—[43]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovel[41]
2021My Heart Is a ChainsawBram Stoker AwardNovel[44]
The Only Good IndiansAlex Award—[45]
Audie AwardThriller/Suspense[46]
British Fantasy AwardHorror Novel[47]
Dragon AwardHorror Novel[48]
Ignyte AwardAdult Novel[49]
Locus AwardHorror Novel[50]
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award—[51]
World Fantasy AwardNovel[52]
"Wait for Night"Locus AwardShort Story[50]
2022My Heart Is a ChainsawBritish Fantasy AwardHorror Novel[53]
Dragon AwardHorror Novel[54]
Locus AwardHorror Novel[55]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovel[56]
2023Don't Fear the ReaperBram Stoker AwardNovel[57]
Shirley Jackson AwardNovel[58]
"Men, Women, and Chainsaws"Ignyte AwardNovelette[59]
2024Don't Fear the ReaperBritish Fantasy AwardHorror Novel[60]
Locus AwardHorror Novel[61]
I Was a Teenage SlasherBram Stoker AwardNovel[62]
2025The Angel of Indian LakeLocus AwardHorror Novel[63]
"Parthenogenesis"Ignyte AwardShort Story[64]
Locus AwardShort Story[63]
The Buffalo Hunter HunterBram Stoker AwardNovel[65]
Dragon AwardHorror Novel[66]
Goodreads Choice AwardsHorror[67]
Los Angeles Times Book PrizeFiction[68]
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction[68]
Nebula AwardNovel[69]
2026Audie AwardHorror[70]
British Fantasy AwardHorror Novel[71]
Locus AwardHorror Novel[72]

References

  1. ^ "Stephen Graham Jones on writing horror and its inverse, romance". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 2014. Archived February 25, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Alexandra Alter (August 14, 2020). "'We've Already Survived an Apocalypse': Indigenous Writers Are Changing Sci-Fi". The New York Times. p. C1. Archived August 19, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Interview: Stephen Graham Jones on The Weird - Weird Fiction Review". Weird Fiction Review. January 16, 2012. Archived April 6, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  4. ^ Jones, Stephen Graham. "Stephen Graham Jones – doesn't understand milk-drinking". Demon Theory.net. Archived March 16, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  5. ^ "Stephen Graham Jones". English. June 19, 2018. Archived October 8, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Texas Archival Resources Online". txarchives.org. Archived November 22, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Jones, Stephen Graham 1972-". Encyclopedia.com. Archived October 2, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Cosel, Pamela (October 22, 2020). "Texas Book Festival names Midland native Stephen Graham Jones winner of the Texas Writer Award". Round Rock Living. Archived March 28, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ^ MacDonald, Jay (April 20, 2021). "Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones". The Montana Review
  10. ^ "Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library". Texas Tech University. Archived October 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Press, Montana (2021-04-20). "Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones". Montana Press. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  12. ^ "Interview with Stephen Graham Jones by Amy Patterson". October 8, 2018. Archived November 17, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
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  19. ^ Waegner, Cathy Covell (2017). "View of Consuming, Incarcerating, and "Transmoting" Misery: Border Practice in Vizenor's Bearheart and Jones's the Fast Red Road | Transmotion". Transmotion. 3 (2): 1–29. doi:10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.218. Archived September 14, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  20. ^ Bas, Borja (20 November 2023). "Stephen Graham Jones: The horror novel helps settle scores for the massacre of American Indians". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  21. ^ Gaudet, Joseph (2016). "I Remember You: Postironic Belief and Settler Colonialism in Stephen Graham Jones's Ledfeather". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 28 (1): 21. doi:10.5250/studamerindilite.28.1.0021. S2CID 156727460. Archived February 22, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
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  24. ^ The Lineup Retrieved March 5, 2026
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Further reading