A short life of the author
Tayari Jones (b. 30 November 1970) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She studied at Spelman College, the University of Iowa, and Arizona State University.
Life and Career
Leaving Atlanta (2002) — about three children navigating the Atlanta child murders of 1979–1981 — was her debut. Silver Sparrow (2011) — about two families in Atlanta sharing the same father — is her most structurally innovative novel.
An American Marriage (2018) — about Celestial and Roy, a young, upwardly mobile Black couple in Atlanta whose marriage is destroyed when Roy is wrongfully convicted of a crime and sentenced to twelve years in prison — was selected for Oprah’s Book Club and became an international bestseller. It won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and has been translated into numerous languages.
Major Works and Themes
Jones writes about Black American family life — marriage, fatherhood, sisterhood, class — with emotional precision and without sentimentality. Her fiction is rooted in Atlanta and the contemporary South.
Key Works
- An American Marriage (2018)
- Silver Sparrow (2011)
Collecting Jones
An American Marriage first edition (Algonquin, 2018) signed copies bring $30–$80. Jones continues to publish.