Parneshia Jones

An Affrilachian poet[2], Jones cites her undergraduate experiences at Chicago State University, studying under important black writers and scholars Haki R. Madhubuti, Dr. Kelly Norman Ellis, Dr. B.J. Bolden, Dr. Donda West, and a one-on-one chance meeting with Gwendolyn Brooks, who reviewed and red-marked Jones’ early poems and encouraged her to continue writing, as a milestone in her writing and editing career.[3]

Jones is the author of Vessel, published by Milkweed Editions in 2015. A collection of verse that traces the intersections of Jones’s Midwestern and Southern histories, Jones documents familial memories and the love of place, food, and the black woman experience. The collection won The Midwest Book Award and was chosen as "One of 12 Books to Savor" by O, The Oprah Magazine.[4] In it, Jones reveals that her first name is related to Mount Parnassus.[5]

Jones began her career in publishing as an intern at Third World Press[6], where she worked with Haki R. Madhubuti.

She began working for Northwestern University Press at the age of twenty-two as a marketing assistant and eventually moved into the role of acquisitions. In 2019, Jones became the Editorial Director for Trade and Engagement. Jones has acquired and worked with esteemed authors of Nobel Prize, Pulitzer, Grammy, and National Book Award acclaim. Her acquisitions include, Head Off & Split, which earned poet Nikky Finney the National Book Award as well as Finney's follow-up collection Lovechild’s Hot Bed of Occasional Poetry: Poems and Artifacts.[7] She acquired Forest Primeval by Vievee Francis, winner of the Kingsley Tufts poetry award in 2017. The following year, she acquired Incendiary Art by Patricia Smith, winner of the Kingsley Tufts poetry award as well as the LA Times Book Prize. She has also worked with Kwame Dawes, Angela Jackson, Kyle Dargan, Karl Kirchwey, Ellen Hagan, and Nandi Comer.[8]

In 2019, Jones became a Visiting Writer in Residence at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She served as past President for the Board of Directors for the Cave Canem Foundation, and currently serves on the advisory board of ShoreFront Legacy Center, an organization and foundation that documents African American history on the North Shores of Chicago.

Jones has received the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, a Margaret Walker Short Story Award, and an Aquarius Press Legacy Award.[9]

She received fellowships and residencies from the Ragdale Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the Association of University Presses, Princeton University Press, and the Yale University Publishing Course.

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