Kima Jones facts for kids

Kima Jones, born around 1982, is an American writer and poet. She also works as a literary publicist. She started her own company, Jack Jones Literary Arts. This company helps authors share their books with the world.

Early Life and Learning

Growing Up in Harlem

Kima Jones was born in 1982 in Harlem, New York. She grew up in a neighborhood called Sugar Hill. Kima was the oldest of eight children in her family. Her grandfather was a minister, and her father was an imam.

Discovering a Love for Books

From a young age, Kima loved to write. She won a poetry contest when she was in elementary school. This win allowed her to read her poems at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She even read alongside famous children's author Walter Dean Myers.

Kima lived in foster care for a time. When she was 12, she reunited with her family. They moved to Poughkeepsie, New York. Her mother and stepfather strongly encouraged her to read. Her stepfather, a professor, gave her many books. One book, Black-Eyed Susans and Midnight Birds, inspired her greatly. She used its index to find even more books to read.

College Years

Kima attended Dutchess Community College. Later, she went to Sarah Lawrence College. She studied there but left before finishing her degree.

Kima Jones's Career

Starting Her Own Company

In 2013, Kima Jones moved to Los Angeles, California. She received a special fellowship from PEN Center USA. In 2015, she started her own company, Jack Jones Literary Arts. This company helps writers from diverse backgrounds. They especially work with writers of color.

Kima has shared that her own background helped her. Growing up as a Black girl from Harlem, she found inspiration. Writers like Sandra Cisneros and Toni Morrison were very important to her.

Helping Authors Succeed

Kima's first two clients were authors Tananarive Due and Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Her company grew quickly. She helped Tyehimba Jess with his poetry book Olio. This book later won the Pulitzer Prize.

She also worked with Angie Thomas on her popular book The Hate U Give. Other authors she helped include Rion Amilcar Scott and Desiree Cooper. Her company also hosts a yearly writing retreat. This retreat is for women of color.

Awards and Recognition

Kima Jones has received several important fellowships. These include the MacDowell, Yaddo, and Lambda Literary fellowships. Her writing has appeared in several collections. Her poem "Homegoing AD" was in Jesmyn Ward's book The Fire This Time. It was also featured in The Best American Non-Required Reading 2017.

In 2018, Kima was named to The Root 100 list. This list honors influential African Americans. In 2021, she became a literary agent at Triangle House Literary. In 2020, it was announced that Knopf would publish her first memoir. The book, titled ..., was released in 2023. Kima also received the Granum Foundation Prize in 2022.