Jonathan Escoffery
Websitejonathanescoffery.com
Birth placeHouston, Texas, United States
Notable worksIf I Survive You (2022)
Education

Jonathan Escoffery is an American writer. His debut novel, If I Survive You, was longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction and shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, among other honors. The novel was well received by critics with reviews applauding Escoffery's humor, narrative style, and exploration of identity in the immigrant experience.[1]

Biography

Escoffery was born in Houston, Texas, to Jamaican parents and grew up in Miami, Florida.[2] Escoffery graduated from Florida International University and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota.[2][3] As of 2022, he was a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Southern California and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.[3]

Escoffery has cited Sandra Cisneros, Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen as literary influences.[2] He worked as the program coordinator for the writing center Grubstreet in Boston, where he started the Boston Writers of Color group.[2] His short story "Under the Ackee Tree", which was published in The Paris Review, was awarded the Plimpton Prize.[4]

Awards and honors

In 2020, Escoffery received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.[3][5]

In September 2022, If I Survive You was the Belletrist Book Club pick.[6] Booklist included it on their 2022 "Booklist Editors' Choice list for adult books",[7] as well as their 2023 list of the "Top 10 Historical Fiction Debuts".[8]

Awards for Escoffery's writing
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2020"Under the Ackee Tree"Plimpton Prize—[3][9]
2022If I Survive YouNational Book AwardFiction[10][11]
National Book Critics Circle AwardJohn Leonard Prize[12][13]
2023Aspen Words Literary Prize—[14][15]
Booker Prize—[16][17]
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction—[18][19]
Southern Book Prize—[20]
Gordon Burn Prize—[21]
2024International Dublin Literary Award—[22]

Bibliography

Short story collections

References

  1. ^ "All Book Marks reviews for If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery". Book Marks. Archived May 2, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  2. ^ Dwyer, Kate (2022-09-04). "Jonathan Escoffery Has a Reality He'd Like to Share". The New York Times. Archived 2023-08-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  3. ^ "Jonathan Escoffery". National Book Foundation. Archived 2023-05-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  4. ^ Review, The Paris (5 March 2020). "Jonathan Escoffery Wins Plimpton Prize; Leigh Newman Wins Terry Southern Prize". The Paris Review. Archived 28 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Jonathan Escoffery". National Endowment for the Arts. Archived 2023-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. ^ "Book Club Picks for September 2022". Publishers Weekly. 2022-09-07. Archived 2022-09-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  7. ^ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2022". Booklist. 2022-12-01. Archived 2023-08-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  8. ^ Seaman, Donna (2023-05-15). "Top 10 Historical Fiction Debuts: 2023". Booklist. Archived 2023-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  9. ^ "Prizes". The Paris Review. Archived 2019-09-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  10. ^ "The 2022 National Book Awards Longlist: Fiction". The New Yorker. September 16, 2022. Archived September 27, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Stewart, Sophia (2022-09-16). "2022 National Book Award Longlists Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2023-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ Valdez, Jonah (2023-02-01). "Here are the finalists for the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived 2023-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  13. ^ Stewart, Sophia (2023-01-31). "2023 National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2023-10-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  14. ^ Schaub, Michael (December 12, 2022). "Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist Is Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived March 7, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Anderson, Porter (2022-12-12). "The $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize Names Its 2023 Longlist". Publishing Perspectives. Archived 2023-10-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  16. ^ Nawotka, Ed (2023-09-21). "2023 Booker Prize Shortlist Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2023-09-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  17. ^ Wolberg, Sarah (2023-09-22). "Booker Prize Shortlist Is Announced". Library Journal. Archived 2023-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  18. ^ "Awards: PEN/Faulkner Fiction, Aspen Words Finalists". Shelf Awareness. 2023-03-08. Archived 2023-03-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  19. ^ Toll, Martha Anne (2023-03-08). "Meet the Five PEN/Faulkner Finalists of 2023". Literary Hub. Archived 2023-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  20. ^ "Awards: Writers' Trust of Canada Winners; SIBA Southern Book Finalists". Shelf Awareness. 2022-11-04. Archived 2022-11-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  21. ^ Creamer, Ella (2024-01-25). "Gordon Burn prize announces ‘blazing’ shortlist". The Guardian
  22. ^ "Wright shortlisted for 2024 Dublin Literary Award". Books+Publishing. 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.

Further reading