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Jason Reynolds

ジェイソン・レイノルズ

Jeison Reinoruzu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1983-12-06 （Washington, D.C., U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S. → Washington, D.C., U.S. → Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet
Active Years
2001-
Influenced By
Queen Latifah, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Walter Dean Myers
Influenced
Tomi Adeyemi, Eve Ewing, Angie Thomas
Nominations
National Book Award Finalist (Ghost, 2016), National Book Award Finalist (Look Both Ways, 2019)

Education

Bishop McNamara High School
Period: 1990s
Year of Graduation: 2000
Country: United States
Graduated high school in 2000
University of Maryland
English
Degree: BA in English
Period: 2000s
Country: United States
BA in English; exact graduation year unknown (set to 0)

Awards

John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
2015
Work: When I Was the Greatest
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner
National Book Award for Young People's Literature
2016
Work: Ghost
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Finalist
Walter Dean Myers Award
2016
Work: All American Boys
Organization: We Need Diverse Books
Result: Winner
Coretta Scott King Award
2016
Work: The Boy in the Black Suit
Category: Honor
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Kirkus Prize
2016
Work: As Brave as You
Organization: Kirkus Reviews
Result: Winner
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teen
2017
Work: As Brave as You
Organization: NAACP
Result: Winner
Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Work
2018
Work: Long Way Down
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Winner
Newbery Honor
2018
Work: Long Way Down
Category: Honor
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Carnegie Medal
2021
Work: Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Organization: CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)
Result: Winner
Margaret A. Edwards Award
2023
Work: When I Was the Greatest; All American Boys; Long Way Down
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner
MacArthur Fellowship
2024
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: Winner
Michael L. Printz Award
2024
Work: The Collectors: Stories
Organization: American Library Association (YALSA)
Result: Winner
Coretta Scott King Author Award
2025
Work: Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...: A LOVE Story
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

When I Was the Greatest

2014 Young adult fiction

A coming-of-age YA novel set in Bedford–Stuyvesant exploring friendship and neighborhood conflicts.

friendshipurban lifecoming-of-age

Ghost

2016 Middle grade / Young adult

First book in the Track series following a boy on a track team confronting his past while learning to run.

sportsself-discoveryteamwork

As Brave as You

2016 Young adult / Middle grade

Two brothers spend a summer with their grandfather and learn about family and bravery, blending humor and heart.

familybraverygrowing up

Long Way Down

2017 Novel in verse / Poetry

A novel-in-verse about a teen confronting revenge and the cycle of violence after his brother is shot.

violencerevengeloss
Adaptations
  • [Stage] Long Way Down (stage adaptation) / Martine Kei Green-Rogers (2018)
  • [Graphic novel] Long Way Down (graphic novel edition) / Danica Novgorodoff (2020)

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

2019 Children's / Middle grade

A linked collection of ten stories set across ten blocks, following middle-schoolers walking home from school.

communitychildren's autonomyeveryday wonder

Miles Morales: Spider-Man

2017 Young adult novel (based on Marvel Comics)

A novel based on Marvel's Miles Morales, exploring family and identity through a superhero lens.

heroismfamilyidentity

Bibliography

  • Let Me Speak
  • Self
  • My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way
  • When I Was the Greatest
  • The Boy in the Black Suit
  • All American Boys
  • As Brave as You
  • Ghost
  • Patina
  • Sunny
  • Lu
  • Miles Morales: Spider-Man
  • Long Way Down
  • For Every One
  • Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
  • Ain't Burned All the Bright
  • There Was a Party for Langston
  • Twenty-four Seconds from Now

Adaptations

  • Stage adaptation of Long Way Down (Kennedy Center)
  • Graphic novel edition of Long Way Down (art by Danica Novgorodoff)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Colloquial, rhythmic, poetic proseVoice-driven, authentic character narration
Recurring Motifs
urban life and everyday momentsviolence and its cyclesfamily and community

Legacy

Widely recognized for centering Black voices in youth literature; his books are frequently used in schools and libraries and he is regarded as a major contemporary author in children's and YA literature.

Academic Societies

  • American Library Association

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared on Antiques Roadshow (2021)
  • Service as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature at the Library of Congress (2020–2022)

Quotes

  • It is a time when they are unsupervised — they get to learn about the world on their own. That's what I wanted to explore in the book.
    Source: Interview around the release of Look Both Ways (2019)

Trivia

  • He did not start reading many books until he was 17; early literary inspiration came from rap music.
  • Graduated high school in 2000 and later earned a BA in English.
  • Recipient of numerous honors including Coretta Scott King recognitions, Carnegie Medal, and Printz Award.
  • Collects items related to African-American literature and appeared on Antiques Roadshow to discuss his collection.