Stephen Graham Jones Last updated August 13, 2025 Background 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 Jones at a 2014 book signing 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 . [ 16] It won the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction in 2020. [ 17] Jones won two 2020 Bram Stoker Awards for Night of the Mannequins and The Only Good Indians . [ 18]
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. [ 19]
Themes and style Jones has acknowledged a debt to Native American Renaissance writers, especially Gerald Vizenor . [ 20] Scholar Cathy Covell Waegner describes Jones's work as containing elements of "dark playfulness, narrative inventiveness, and genre mixture." [ 20] 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." [ 21]
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'. [ 22] His eighth novel, Ledfeather , which Jones stated was the most widely taught of his books, [ 23] 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. [ 24]
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 . [ 25]
Selected works Under the pseudonym P. T. Jones Short stories "Captain's Lament" . Clarkesworld . No. 17. February 1, 2008. "How Billy Hanson Destroyed the Planet Earth, and Everyone on It" . Juked . April 1, 2009. "Little Lambs". The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories , edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VaderMeer, reprint edition. Tor Books. 2012. ISBN 9780765333629. Sterling City . Nightscape. May 18, 2013. ISBN 9781938644160 .The Elvis Room . This is Horror. March 31, 2014. ISBN 9780957548152 . "Brushdogs" . Nightmare Magazine . No. 58. 2014. "The Backbone of the World ". Amazon Original Stories. February 24, 2022. ASIN B09RQZZ9P8. "Men, Women, and Chainsaws ". Tor.com. April 20, 2022. ISBN 9781250850874. Comics Earthdivers , no. 1– (October 2022–present). IDW Publishing . [ 64] "Dear Final Girls" (2019) art by Jolyon Yates, originally published in the Horror Special issue of Wicked Awesome tales edited by Todd Jones. [ 65] References ↑ "Stephen Graham Jones on writing horror and its inverse, romance" . Los Angeles Times . April 11, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015 . ↑ Alexandra Alter (August 14, 2020). " 'We've Already Survived an Apocalypse': Indigenous Writers Are Changing Sci-Fi" . The New York Times . p. C1. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020 . ↑ "Interview: Stephen Graham Jones on The Weird - Weird Fiction Review" . Weird Fiction Review . January 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2015 . ↑ Jones, Stephen Graham. "Stephen Graham Jones – doesn't understand milk-drinking" . Demon Theory.net . Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2010 . ↑ "Stephen Graham Jones" . English . June 19, 2018. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021 . ↑ "Texas Archival Resources Online" . txarchives.org . Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021 . ↑ "Jones, Stephen Graham 1972-" . Encyclopedia.com . Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023 . ↑ Cosel, Pamela (October 22, 2020). "Texas Book Festival names Midland native Stephen Graham Jones winner of the Texas Writer Award" . Round Rock Living . Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021 . ↑ MacDonald, Jay (April 20, 2021). "Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones" . The Montana Review . ↑ "Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library" . Texas Tech University . Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021 . ↑ Press, Montana (April 20, 2021). "Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones" . Montana Press . Retrieved May 1, 2024 . ↑ "Interview with Stephen Graham Jones by Amy Patterson" . October 8, 2018. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021 . ↑ "Meet the Creative Writing Fellows: Stephen Jones" . National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021 . ↑ "1936-2021 Texas Institute of Letters: Awards" (PDF) . Texas Institute of Letters. March 3, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021 . ↑ "2017 Bram Stoker Award® Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards" . Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019 . ↑ Jones, Stephen Graham (2020). The only good Indians : a novel . New York, New York: Gallery / Saga Press. ISBN 9781-9821-3645-1 . OCLC 1105935531 . ↑ Pineda, Dorany (April 17, 2021). "Winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes announced" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021 . ↑ "The Bram Stoker Awards 2020" . Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021 . ↑ "Marvel's Voices Expands with 'Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices' #1" . Marvel Entertainment . Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020 . 1 2 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 from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018 . ↑ Bas, Borja (November 20, 2023). "Stephen Graham Jones: The horror novel helps settle scores for the massacre of American Indians" . EL PAÍS English . Retrieved July 9, 2024 . ↑ 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 from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2018 . ↑ Wilson, Michael. "One Month of Reading Stephen Graham Jones: A Primer" . LitReactor . Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018 . ↑ "Wonderbook Interview with Stephen Graham Jones" . Wonderbook . October 11, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2024 . ↑ Press, Montana (April 20, 2021). "Rez Gothic: Stephen Graham Jones" . Montana Press . Retrieved May 1, 2024 . ↑ "2008 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2009 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees" . The Bram Stoker Awards . Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2010 Shirley Jackson Award Winners" . Locus . July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2014 Bram Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . May 9, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2014 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . Locus . July 12, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2016 Bram Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . April 29, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . 1 2 "2016 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . Locus . July 16, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2017 Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2017 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . Locus . July 16, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2017 Locus Awards Winners" . Locus . June 24, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2018 World Fantasy Awards Winners" . Locus . November 4, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . 1 2 "2020 Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . May 24, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . 1 2 Andrew Liptak (August 16, 2021). "Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Shirley Jackson Awards!" . Tor.com . Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "Readers' Favorite Horror 2020" . Goodreads . Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2020 Ray Bradbury Prize Winner" . Locus . April 19, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2021 Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . May 15, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ Young Adult Library Services Association (February 27, 2012). "Alex Awards" . American Library Association . Retrieved May 4, 2021 . ↑ "2021 Audie Awards Finalists" . Locus . February 23, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2021 British Fantasy Awards Winners" . Locus . September 27, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2021 Dragon Awards Winners" . Locus . September 7, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2021 Ignyte Awards Winners" . Locus . September 18, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . 1 2 "2021 Locus Awards Winners" . Locus . June 26, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "Mark Twain Award Goes to Stephen Graham Jones" . Publishers Weekly . November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2025 . ↑ "2021 World Fantasy Award Winners" . Locus . November 7, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "Announcing the 2022 British Fantasy Awards Winners" . Tor.com . September 19, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2022 Dragon Awards Winners" . Locus . September 7, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2022 Locus Awards Winners" . Locus . June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025 . ↑ "2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . Locus . October 31, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2023 Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . June 3, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2023 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" . Locus . July 13, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2023 Ignyte Awards Finalists" . Locus . May 24, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2025 . ↑ "2024 British Fantasy Awards Winners" . Locus . October 14, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2024 Locus Awards Winners" . Locus . June 22, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2024 Stoker Awards Winners" . Locus . June 16, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . 1 2 "2025 Locus Awards Winners" . Locus . June 21, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ "2025 Ignyte Awards Finalists" . Locus . June 9, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025 . ↑ Liptak, Andrew (February 22, 2021). "Here Are the 2020 Bram Stoker Award Nominees" . Tor.com . Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021 . ↑ Gayen, Sayantan (August 25, 2022). "Review: IDW Publishing's Earthdivers #1" . CBR . Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022 . ↑ "Dear Final Girls" . jolyonbyates.com . Further reading Billy J. Stratton, The Fictions of Stephen Graham Jones: A Critical Companion (U of New Mexico P, 2016) Chaplinsky, Joshua (January 10, 2011). "Stephen Graham Jones" . The Cult . Retrieved February 28, 2015 . Hart, Rob (November 28, 2007). "Stephen Graham Jones" . The Cult . Retrieved February 28, 2015 . Slushpile (July 1, 2005). "Interview: Stephen Graham Jones, Author" . Slushpile.net . Retrieved February 28, 2015 . External links
Novels As P. T. Jones Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly (2014)Short stories
1987–2000 2000–2009 2011–2020 2021-2030
International National Academics Other
[[[Category:American weird fiction writers]]
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