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Stephen Graham Jones

スティーブン・グレアム・ジョーンズ

Stephen Graham Jones

Pen Names: P. T. Jones（Pen name used for some works (including a coauthored title)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1972-01-22 （Midland, Texas, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Boulder, Colorado, U.S. (resident) → Montana, U.S. (annual visits) → Midland, Texas, U.S. (birthplace)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Professor of English
Active Years
1998-
Affiliations
University of Colorado (Ineva Baldwin Professor of English), Texas Tech University (former faculty/staff)
Influenced By
Gerald Vizenor, Louis L'Amour, David Foster Wallace

Education

Texas Tech University
English and Philosophy (majors)
Degree: BA
Period: 1990–1994
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: United States
University of North Texas
English
Degree: MA
Period: 1994–1996
Year of Graduation: 1996
Country: United States
Florida State University
English
Degree: PhD
Period: 1996–1998
Year of Graduation: 1998
Country: United States
Wrote his debut novel as his dissertation

Awards

National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (Creative Writing)
2002
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: Won
Jesse Jones Award for Fiction
2006
Work: Bleed into Me (short story collection)
Organization: Texas Institute of Letters
Result: Won
Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction
2017
Work: Mapping the Interior
Category: Long Fiction
Organization: HWA (Bram Stoker Awards)
Result: Won
Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction
2020
Work: Night of the Mannequins
Category: Long Fiction
Organization: HWA (Bram Stoker Awards)
Result: Won
Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel
2020
Work: The Only Good Indians
Category: Novel
Organization: HWA (Bram Stoker Awards)
Result: Won
Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction
2020
Work: The Only Good Indians
Organization: Ray Bradbury Prize
Result: Won
Shirley Jackson Award
2020
Work: Night of the Mannequins
Category: Novella
Organization: Shirley Jackson Awards
Result: Won
Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel
2021
Work: My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Category: Novel
Organization: HWA (Bram Stoker Awards)
Result: Won
Alex Awards
2021
Work: The Only Good Indians
Organization: American Library Association (YALSA)
Result: Won
Locus Award for Best Horror Novel
2022
Work: My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Category: Horror Novel
Organization: Locus
Result: Won
British Fantasy Award (August Derleth Award for Horror Novel)
2024
Work: Don't Fear the Reaper
Category: Horror Novel
Organization: British Fantasy Society
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Only Good Indians

2020 Horror

A horror novel that explores the consequences of past actions within an Indigenous community, weaving themes of tradition, identity, and revenge.

Indigenous experienceRevengeRitual and culture

My Heart Is a Chainsaw

2021 Horror

A story that intertwines knowledge of slasher films with real-world violence, following a young protagonist as fear and nostalgia collide.

Meta-film cultureComing-of-age and trauma

Night of the Mannequins

2020 Horror (long/novella)

A long-fiction/novella about eerie events surrounding mannequins, noted for experimental narration and chilling atmosphere.

UncanninessUrban-legend elements

Ledfeather

2008 Experimental fiction / Native American literature

A layered work that addresses Native American perspectives and history; frequently taught in academic settings.

MemoryEffects of settler colonialism

Mapping the Interior

2017 Long fiction

A long-fiction work connecting personal terror with family history, notable for its literary experimentation.

FamilyMemory and trauma

Mongrels

2016 Horror with fantasy elements

A novel about transformation and belonging framed within horror, notable for genre-mixing.

TransformationIdentity

Bibliography

  • The Fast Red Road: A Plainsong (2000)
  • All the Beautiful Sinners (2003)
  • Bleed into Me: A Book of Stories (2005)
  • Demon Theory (2006)
  • Ledfeather (2008)
  • Mongrels (2016)
  • Mapping the Interior (2017)
  • Night of the Mannequins (2020)
  • The Only Good Indians (2020)
  • My Heart Is a Chainsaw (2021)
  • Don't Fear the Reaper (2023)
  • The Angel of Indian Lake (2024)

Adaptations

  • Earthdivers (comic, IDW Publishing)
  • Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices (contributed X-Men story, Marvel Comics)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Experimental fictionGenre-mixing (horror, SF, crime)Rez Gothic / Native American Gothic
Recurring Motifs
Indigenous history and cultureMemory and traumaCoexistence of humor and unease

Legacy

A writer who brings Indigenous perspectives into horror and experimental forms, acclaimed in both contemporary American literature and genre fiction; influential in academia through his teaching.

Archives

  • Texas Tech University Southwest Collection / Special Collections (archive holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Known as a leading figure in the Rez Gothic movement within horror

Quotes

  • "For better or worse, those pulp westerns are now part of my DNA as a writer."
    Source: Interview (paraphrased remark) (2013)

Trivia

  • Enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe.
  • Holds the Ineva Baldwin Professorship of English at the University of Colorado Boulder (faculty since 2008).
  • Married Nancy in 1995; has two children.