Naomi Jackson

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Author photo by Lola Flash A. Naomi Jackson.jpg
Author photo by Lola Flash

A. Naomi Jackson [1] is an Caribbean-American author most known for her novel The Star Side of Bird Hill, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award [2] , was a finalist for the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award [3] . The novel was also longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize [4] , along with the John Leonard Award [5] from National Book Critics as well as the International Dublin Literary Award [6] . She is a Fulbright recipient, and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Contents

Her first novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, was received positively by critics. It boasts recommendations by Entertainment Weekly , Oprah.com, The Huffington Post , Kirkus Reviews , Travel & Leisure, Bustle , Publishers Weekly , Gawker , Minnesota Public Radio, and For Harriet. [7] [8]

Personal Life and Education

A. Naomi Jackson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to West India parents. [1] Jackson describes herself as 'pan-Caribbean mongrel' as her father is from Antigua, her mother is from Barbados and her stepmother is from Jamaica. [9] In Harper's Magazine, Jackson goes on to openly talk about her struggles with mental health and her journey to recovery. [10]

Jackson is an graduate from Williams College [1] and has earned her MA degree in Creative writing through the University of Cape Town on a Fulbright scholarship. [11] After several years of poetry and fiction workshops at Cave Canem and Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center [11] , Jackson, just shy of turning 30, gets accepted into Iowa Writers workshop to obtain her MFA. [11]

The Star Side of Bird Hill (2015)

Jackson's debut novel The Star Side of Bird Hill published by Penguin Books [12] in June 2015, follows two sisters, Dionne (16) and Phaedra (10) through their summer in Bible Camp [13] in Barbados with their grandmother when their mother was unable to care for the two as she struggles with her own mental health. [9] Jackson goes on to describe one theme in the novel was based around a family of women, as it explores motherhood, girlhood, sexuality and generational wounds. [9] Jackson explains that the reason for the theme was draw upon based on her personal life, having survived, as she describes, 'Vacation Bible School in Antigua and a former acolyte in the Epsicopal Church in Brooklyn'. [13] Jackson takes inspiration in writing her novels through reading Jamaica Kincaid's novels, especially Annie John. [9]

Reception

Naomi Jackson's debut novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, was met immediately with high praise. Highly recommended by Gawker and The Huffington Post , NPR's book review "A Lyrical Coming Of Age Tale In 'Bird Hill'" [14] was more critical. In this piece critic Michael Schaub call "[Star Side of Bird Hill] excellent for a debut novel, though it's not entirely without its flaws." He criticizes it for its treatment of supporting characters and a plot which, he writes, "seems to get away from her towards the end." However, these flaws, "are hardly mortal sins, especially for a first-time novelist." Throughout his review, he praises the writing of the character, Phaedra, which he says makes the book worth reading.

Isabella Biedenharn with Entertainment Weekly gave it a more positive review, [15] calling it, "so poetic in its descriptions and so alive with lovable, frustrating, painfully real characters, that your emotional response to it becomes almost physical." She goes on to praise Naomi Jackson's treatment of Dionne, Hyacinthe, and Errol, as well as Phaedra.

Honors and awards

Publications

Books

Stories and articles

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bio". Naomi Jackson. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards - Outstanding Literary Work". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Legacy Awards". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  4. ↑ "2015 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ Ciabattari, Jane (December 31, 2015). "Final Round of John Leonard Award Voting Begins". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ IGO (September 3, 2019). "The Star Side of Bird Hill". Dublin Literary Award. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Press & Praise". Naomi Jackson. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Naomi Jackson". Poets & Writers. July 9, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Adisa, Opal Palmer (January 2, 2017). "Three Generations of Women: The Star Side of Bird Hill – Interview with Naomi Jackson". Caribbean Quarterly. doi:10.1080/00086495.2017.1302162?casa_token=lvuqbuswocgaaaaa:7xszrcybhaemktw4dsupovapblmhad8rx6qwuuiylio42rm6mi1qvy4zcpiuactp2dg501qqhy8. ISSN   0008-6495.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Her Kind: On losing and finding my mind". Harper's Magazine. Vol. December 2021. ISSN   0017-789X . Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 Jackson, Naomi. "Making the road by walking: from Brooklyn to the Iowa writers' workshop and back". go.gale.com. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson: 9780143109167 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Jackson, Naomi (2015). "Naomi Jackson whose debut novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, was published in June by Penguin Press". go.gale.com. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  14. ↑ Schaub, Michael (June 30, 2015). "A Lyrical Coming Of Age Tale In 'Bird Hill'". NPR. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  15. ↑ June 26, Isabella Biedenharn Updated; EDT, 2015 at 04:01 PM. "'The Star Side of Bird Hill' by Naomi Jackson: EW review". EW.com. Retrieved June 6, 2022.{{cite web}}: |first1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Schomburg Center's Scholars-in-Residence Program Announces 2021-2022 Fellows". nypl.org. New York Public Library. July 13, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Naomi Jackson - Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  18. ↑ "2016 DEBUT-LITZER PRIZE WINNERS". Blubrry Podcasting - Podcast Hosting, Statistics, WordPress Hosting, Syndication Tools and Directory. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Naomi Jackson". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  20. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards - Outstanding Literary Work". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  21. ↑ Busby, Margaret (ed.). "Contents". Daughters of Africa (PDF). UK: Myriad Editions. pp. vii–xiv.
  22. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (November 10, 2021). "Her Kind: On losing and finding my mind". Harper's Magazine. Vol. December 2021. ISSN   0017-789X . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  23. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (August 25, 2021). "One in a Million: An Elegy for Aaliyah". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  24. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | 'The Other Black Girl' should be at the top of your summer reading list". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  25. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | The spellbinding 'Revival Season' makes Monica West an author to watch". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  26. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (February 18, 2021). "I Wanted to Celebrate My 40th Birthday at Crop Over. COVID-19 Had Other Plans". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  27. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | Ladee Hubbard's 'The Rib King' is a fascinating look at ambition, race and revenge". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  28. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | 'The Prophets' reimagines the lives of enslaved people with the epic love story of two men". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  29. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (October 7, 2020). "The Confounding Insistence on Innocence: A Q&A With Danielle Evans". Poets & Writers. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  30. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (August 14, 2020). "A Litany for Survival: Giving birth as a black woman in America". Harper's Magazine. Vol. September 2020. ISSN   0017-789X . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  31. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | 'Love After Love' reminds readers why we go to books in search of answers to life's great questions". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  32. ↑ Jackson, Naomi. "Review | For many writers, Zora Neale Hurston's work has been a guiding light. Now there's even more to read". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  33. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (June 13, 2017). "Joy Comes in the Morning". Virginia Quarterly Review. 93 (3). Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Sex, Again?". Tin House. No. 69. Fall 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  35. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (July 2016). "Falling in Love with Bahia & Brazil: On Negritude, Saudade, & Surrender". Words Without Borders. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Naomi Jackson, To Be Young Gifted and Black: A Travelogue of Black Women Artists in France and America". Apogee Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  37. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (September 9, 2015). "Why It Matters That Serena Williams Keeps Winning". ELLE. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  38. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (August 7, 2015). "Every Day Something Has Tried To Kill Me". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Bumpers by A. Naomi Jackson". KWELI / Truth From the Diaspora's Boldest Voices. August 9, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  40. ↑ Jackson, Naomi (July 1, 2005). "Fever". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
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