Author Talk: Robert Jones Jr, THE PROPHETS

A stunning debut novel and instant New York Times bestseller, THE PROPHETS is a tale of the union between two enslaved men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence. Written with a spellbinding mix of lyricism, rawness, and authenticity reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and James Baldwin, THE PROPHETS addresses issues of race, class, privilege, and sexuality with an urgent and unflinching eye toward our contemporary times, proving that Jones is a writer who is not only part of the current conversation but helping to lead it.

Robert Jones, Jr., was born and raised in New York City. He received his BFA in creative writing with honors and MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Essence, OkayAfrica, The Feminist Wire, and The Grio. He is the creator of the social-justice social media community Son of Baldwin. Jones was recently featured in T Magazine’s cover story, “Black Male Writers of Our Time.”

About the Host:
Karen Dukess is the author of The Last Book Party, “a spare, bittersweet page-turner (NYTimes),” which was an IndieNext and Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. She has been a tour guide in the former Soviet Union, a newspaper reporter in Florida, a magazine publisher in Russia and a speechwriter on gender equality for the United Nations Development Programme. She has blogged on raising boys for The Huffington Post and written book reviews for USA Today. She has a degree in Russian Studies from Brown University and a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University. She lives with her family near New York City and spends as much time as possible in Truro.