Stephen Graham Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones, late 2019
Born	(1972-01-22) January 22, 1972 (age 53) Midland, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Writer, Ineva Baldwin Professor of English at University of Colorado
Education	Texas Tech University (BA) University of North Texas (MA) Florida State University (PhD)
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. He writes many kinds of stories, including horror fiction, crime fiction, and science fiction. Some of his most famous horror novels are The Only Good Indians, My Heart Is a Chainsaw, and Night of the Mannequins.

Jones is also a professor of English at the University of Colorado. He has taught there since 2008.

About Stephen Graham Jones

Stephen Graham Jones was born in Midland, Texas, on January 22, 1972. His parents are Dennis Jones and Rebecca Graham. He is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana.

Stephen loved reading from a young age, starting at 11. But when he was a boy, he wanted to be a farmer, not a writer or a teacher. After starting college, he decided to finish his degree. He still planned to go back to a hands-on job after graduating.

He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy, from Texas Tech University in 1994. He then got his Master of Arts in English from the University of North Texas in 1996. Finally, he earned his Ph.D. in 1998 from Florida State University.

After getting his Ph.D. in 1998, Jones worked in a warehouse in Texas. A back injury meant he had to switch to a desk job. He worked at the Texas Tech Library before becoming a teacher at Texas Tech University and the University of West Texas.

Stephen Graham Jones's Writing Career

Jones at a book signing in 2014

While Stephen was studying at Florida State University, his professor introduced him to an editor named Jane Silver. This happened at a writing conference. Jones told her about a novel he hadn't written yet, and she liked the idea!

So, Jones wrote the book, The Fast Red Road, as part of his Ph.D. work. It was published in 2000 as his very first novel. His next book, All the Beautiful Sinners, came out in 2003.

In 2002, Jones received a special award called a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for his fiction writing. In 2006, he won the Jesse Jones Award for Fiction. This was for his collection of short stories called Bleed into Me, published in 2005. He also won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction in 2017 for his book Mapping the Interior.

His horror novel, The Only Good Indians, was published on July 14, 2020. It won the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction in 2020. Jones also won two Bram Stoker Awards in 2020 for Night of the Mannequins and The Only Good Indians.

In November 2020, Jones wrote an X-Men story for Marvel Comics. It was part of a special comic book called Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices #1. Artist David Cutler worked with him on this project.

Writing Style and Themes

Stephen Graham Jones has said that other Native American writers have influenced his work. He also mentions that the Western novels by Louis L'Amour helped him become a writer. He says those stories are "part of his DNA as a writer."

People describe Jones's writing as having "dark playfulness" and mixing different types of stories. He likes to make things strange and exciting. He often uses humor to ease the tension in his stories, only to build it up again later.

Some of his novels are called "Native American Gothic" or "Rez Gothic." This style uses fantasy, science fiction, and horror to show problems like unfairness toward Native Americans. His novel The Only Good Indians is an example of this.

Stephen Graham Jones's Personal Life

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

Jones lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, son, and daughter. He teaches at the University of Colorado. Every July, Jones enjoys going back to northern Montana to attend the Blackfeet Nation Pow Wow. In November, he goes for the yearly Montana Blackfeet elk hunt. This elk hunt actually inspired his novel The Only Good Indians.

Awards and Recognition

Selected Works

Books

• The Fast Red Road (2000)
• All the Beautiful Sinners (2003)
• Bleed into Me (2005)
• ''The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti (2009)
• ''The Ones That Got Away (2011)
• ''After the People Lights Have Gone Off (2015)
• Mongrels (2016)
• Mapping the Interior (2017)
• The Only Good Indians (2020)
• Night of the Mannequins (2020)
• My Heart Is a Chainsaw (2021)
• Don't Fear the Reaper (2023)

Short Stories

• "Men, Women, and Chainsaws." Tor.com. 2022. ISBN 9781250850874.

Comics

• 'Dear Final Girls' (2019) art by Jolyon Yates. This was first published in the Horror Special issue of 'Wicked Awesome Tales'.

See Also

In Spanish: Stephen Graham Jones para niños