# Jonathan Raymond

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jonathan_Raymond
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jonathan_Raymond.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Raymond
> Source revision: 1357183678
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

American writer (born 1971)

For the President of Trinity Western University, see [Jonathan S. Raymond](/source/Jonathan_S._Raymond).

Jon Raymond Raymond in 2017 Born (1971-06-26) June 26, 1971 (age 55) San Francisco, California, U.S. Education Swarthmore College (BA) The New School (MFA)

**Jonathan Raymond** (born June 26, 1971), usually credited **Jon Raymond**, is an American writer living in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon). He is best known for writing the novels *The Half-Life* and *Rain Dragon*, and for writing the short stories and novels adapted for the films *[Old Joy](/source/Old_Joy)*, *[Wendy and Lucy](/source/Wendy_and_Lucy)*, and *[First Cow](/source/First_Cow)*, all directed by [Kelly Reichardt](/source/Kelly_Reichardt), with whom he co-wrote the screenplays.

As a screenwriter, Raymond wrote the original scripts for *[Meek's Cutoff](/source/Meek's_Cutoff_(film))* and *[Night Moves](/source/Night_Moves_(2013_film)).* He was nominated for a [Primetime Emmy](/source/Primetime_Emmy) for his teleplay writing on the [HBO](/source/HBO) miniseries *[Mildred Pierce](/source/Mildred_Pierce_(miniseries))*.

## Early life and education

Raymond grew up in [Lake Grove, Oregon](/source/Lake_Grove%2C_Oregon), and attended [Lake Oswego High School](/source/Lake_Oswego_High_School). He graduated from [Swarthmore College](/source/Swarthmore_College). He received his [MFA](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts) from [The New School](/source/The_New_School) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).[1]

## Career

### Fiction

He published his first novel, *The Half-Life* in May 2004, which was released by [Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing). The novel takes place in Oregon and revolves around two parallel storylines: the cook Cookie Figowitz meeting with the refugee Henry Brown in 1820s Oregon, and 160 years later (1980), Tina Plank befriending Trixie, a girl with a troubled past.[2] The novel won a *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)* "Best Book of 2004" award.

In 2008, Raymond published his first collection of short stories, entitled *Livability*, which won the [Oregon Book Award](/source/Oregon_Book_Award)'s [Ken Kesey](/source/Ken_Kesey) Award for Fiction in 2009.[3] The collection was also a [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble) "Discover Great New Writer’s" selection. Three stories from that collection ("Old Joy", "Train Choir", and "The Suckling Pig") were adapted into feature films.

"Old Joy", a 2004 short story Raymond wrote that was inspired by the photography of [Justine Kurland](/source/Justine_Kurland), became adapted into the 2006 film *[Old Joy](/source/Old_Joy)*, directed by [Kelly Reichardt](/source/Kelly_Reichardt) and starring musician [Will Oldham](/source/Will_Oldham).[4][5] The film premiered at the 2006 [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival) and won awards from the [Los Angeles Film Critics Association](/source/Los_Angeles_Film_Critics_Association), the [Rotterdam International Film Festival](/source/Rotterdam_International_Film_Festival), the [Sarasota Film Festival](/source/Sarasota_Film_Festival) and the [Independent Spirit Awards](/source/Independent_Spirit_Awards) (producer Neil Kopp won the Producer's Award), and was on various "Top 10 Films of 2006" lists including those from [LA Weekly](/source/LA_Weekly), [Portland Oregonian](/source/Portland_Oregonian), [The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club), [The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe), and [Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly).

Raymond's story "Train Choir" was adapted into the 2008 feature film *[Wendy and Lucy](/source/Wendy_and_Lucy)*, also directed by [Kelly Reichardt](/source/Kelly_Reichardt) and starring [Michelle Williams](/source/Michelle_Williams_(actress)), and which had its world premiere at the 2008 [Cannes Film Festival](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival). The film won both Best Picture and Best Actress (for Williams) at the [12th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards](/source/Toronto_Film_Critics_Association_Awards_2008).[6] *Wendy and Lucy* was also placed at #87 on [Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)'s best films of the 2000s,[7] and also appeared on many "Top 10 Films of 2008" lists,[8] including those of the *[Chicago Reader](/source/Chicago_Reader)*, *[New York Post](/source/New_York_Post)*, *[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)*, *[The Austin Chronicle](/source/The_Austin_Chronicle)*, *[LA Weekly](/source/LA_Weekly)*, *[The Philadelphia Inquirer](/source/The_Philadelphia_Inquirer)*, the *[Seattle Post-Intelligencer](/source/Seattle_Post-Intelligencer)*, *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*, *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, *[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)*, *[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))*, *[The Village Voice](/source/The_Village_Voice)*, and *[The Christian Science Monitor](/source/The_Christian_Science_Monitor)*.

In 2012, Raymond also published a second novel, *Rain Dragon*, which revolves around the character of Damon and his girlfriend Amy, who have had enough of Los Angeles and decide to leave the city to work on a community farm.

"The Suckling Pig", a third story from *Livability*, was adapted into the 2023 film *Earthlings* by Steven Doughton, and premiered at the Göteborg Film Festival in Sweden.

### Screenwriting

Raymond has co-written, with the director [Kelly Reichardt](/source/Kelly_Reichardt), the screenplays for two of her films based on his short stories, *[Old Joy](/source/Old_Joy)* (2006) and *[Wendy and Lucy](/source/Wendy_and_Lucy)* (2008), as well as for *[First Cow](/source/First_Cow)* (2019), based on his novel *The Half Life*. For *Old Joy*, he was nominated, along with the director and producers of the film, for a [John Cassavetes](/source/John_Cassavetes) Award from the 2007 [Independent Spirit Awards](/source/Independent_Spirit_Awards).

Raymond in 2010

Raymond also wrote the screenplay for Reichardt's 2010 western *[Meek's Cutoff](/source/Meek's_Cutoff_(film))*, which competed for the [Golden Lion](/source/Golden_Lion) at the [67th Venice International Film Festival](/source/67th_Venice_International_Film_Festival). Raymond was nominated for a Humanitas Prize at the [2011 Sundance Film Festival](/source/2011_Sundance_Film_Festival) for his screenplay, and the film received a "Best Film" nomination from the 2011 [Gotham Independent Film Awards](/source/Gotham_Independent_Film_Awards).

Raymond again worked with Reichardt on the screenplay for her film *[Night Moves](/source/Night_Moves_(2013_film))* in 2013. The film was shown in the main competition section of the [70th Venice International Film Festival](/source/70th_Venice_International_Film_Festival) in 2013 and at the [2013 Toronto International Film Festival](/source/2013_Toronto_International_Film_Festival).

Raymond collaborated on the screenplay for another of Reichardt's films, *[First Cow](/source/First_Cow)* which premiered at the [Telluride Film Festival](/source/Telluride_Film_Festival) in 2019. The film was also chosen to compete for the [Golden Bear](/source/Golden_Bear) in the main competition section at the [70th Berlin International Film Festival](/source/70th_Berlin_International_Film_Festival) in 2020.

### Teleplays and television writing

Raymond also co-wrote all the teleplays for all five episodes of the 2011 HBO miniseries, *[Mildred Pierce](/source/Mildred_Pierce_(miniseries))*, directed and also co-written by [Todd Haynes](/source/Todd_Haynes) based on [James M. Cain](/source/James_M._Cain)'s novel, and starring [Kate Winslet](/source/Kate_Winslet) as the title character. For his writing work on the show, Raymond was nominated for a [Primetime Emmy](/source/Primetime_Emmy) for "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special" (shared with Todd Haynes).

### Other work

Raymond's professional duties include co-editing *[Tin House](/source/Tin_House)*, editing *[Plazm](/source/Plazm_(magazine))*, art criticism for *[Artforum](/source/Artforum)* and *[Modern Painters](/source/Modern_Painters_(magazine))*, and teaching through [The New School](/source/The_New_School).[1] Raymond's writing has also appeared in *[Bookforum](/source/Bookforum)*, the *[Village Voice](/source/Village_Voice)*, and other publications.

Raymond produced the 2012 feature film, *Buoy*, directed by Steven Doughton and starring [Matthew Del Negro](/source/Matthew_Del_Negro) and [Tina Holmes](/source/Tina_Holmes). He has also served as the assistant to Writer/Director [Todd Haynes](/source/Todd_Haynes) on the set of his 2002 film, *[Far From Heaven](/source/Far_From_Heaven)*, starring [Julianne Moore](/source/Julianne_Moore) and [Dennis Quaid](/source/Dennis_Quaid). Raymond used the name "Slats Grobnik" (a character created by Chicago newspaper columnist [Mike Royko](/source/Mike_Royko)) when he worked as Haynes' assistant on *Far From Heaven*, and [Roger Ebert](/source/Roger_Ebert) noticed this deep in the credits and wrote about it in his "Movie Yearbook 2004."[9]

## Books

- *Old Joy* (2004), short story (collected 2008 in *Livability*) with photographies by [Justine Kurland](/source/Justine_Kurland), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-891273-05-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-891273-05-6)

- *The Half-Life: A Novel* (2004), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-58234-578-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58234-578-9) (2005 paperback) - *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)* "Best Book of 2004" award

- *Livability: Stories* (2008), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59691-655-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59691-655-5) - [Oregon Book Award](/source/Oregon_Book_Award)'s [Ken Kesey](/source/Ken_Kesey) Award for Fiction in 2009 - [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble) "Discover Great New Writer’s" selection

- *Rain Dragon: A Novel* (2012), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60819-679-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60819-679-1)

- *Freebird: A Novel* (2017), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-55597-760-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-55597-760-3)

- *Denial: A Novel* (2022) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-98218-183-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-98218-183-3)

- *God and Sex: A Novel* (2025) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1668084915](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1668084915)

## Screenplays

- *[Old Joy](/source/Old_Joy)* (2006) (with [Kelly Reichardt](/source/Kelly_Reichardt)) (based on the short story "Old Joy" in his 2008 collection *Livability*) - [John Cassavetes](/source/John_Cassavetes) Award Nomination from the 2007 [Independent Spirit Awards](/source/Independent_Spirit_Awards)

- *[Wendy and Lucy](/source/Wendy_and_Lucy)* (2008) (with Kelly Reichardt) (based on the short story "Train Choir" in his 2008 collection *Livability*)

- *[Meek's Cutoff](/source/Meek's_Cutoff_(film))* (2010) (with Kelly Reichardt) - 2011 [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival) Humanitas Award Nomination

- *[Night Moves](/source/Night_Moves_(2013_film))* (2013) (with Kelly Reichardt)

- *[First Cow](/source/First_Cow)* (2019) (with Kelly Reichardt) (based on his 2004 novel *The Half-Life*)

- *[Showing Up](/source/Showing_Up)* (2022) (with Kelly Reichardt)

- *Earthlings* (2023) (with [Steven Doughton](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Doughton&action=edit&redlink=1)) (based on the short story "The Suckling Pig" in his 2008 collection *Livability*)

- *[De Noche](/source/De_Noche_(film))* (TBA) (with [Todd Haynes](/source/Todd_Haynes))

## Teleplays

- *[Mildred Pierce](/source/Mildred_Pierce_(miniseries))* (2011) (teleplays for all five episodes, Part One to Part Five) - [Primetime Emmy](/source/Primetime_Emmy) Nomination for "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special" (shared with [Todd Haynes](/source/Todd_Haynes))

## Awards and nominations

- For *The Half-Life: A Novel*: *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)* "Best Book of 2004" Award

- For *Livability* (Short story collection): [Oregon Book Award](/source/Oregon_Book_Award)'s [Ken Kesey](/source/Ken_Kesey) for Fiction in 2009 and [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble) "Discover Great New Writer’s" selection

- For *[Mildred Pierce](/source/Mildred_Pierce_(miniseries))*: 2011 [Primetime Emmy](/source/Primetime_Emmy) Nomination for "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special" (shared with [Todd Haynes](/source/Todd_Haynes))

- For *[Meek's Cutoff](/source/Meek's_Cutoff_(film))* screenplay, 2011 [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival) Humanitas Award Nomination

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-oregonlive.com_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-oregonlive.com_1-1) Baker, Jeff (2009-01-05). ["Writer Jon Raymond sees his work realized in Oregon films"](https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2009/01/writer_jon_raymond_sees_his_wo.html). *oregonlive*. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["The Half-Life"](http://web.archive.org/web/20250121075559/https://www.amazon.com/The-Half-Life-Jon-Raymond-ebook/dp/B002TTICCI). *www.amazon.com*. Archived from [the original](https://www.amazon.com/The-Half-Life-Jon-Raymond-ebook/dp/B002TTICCI) on 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Baker, Jeff (2009-10-27). ["Oregon Book Awards honor new writers, veteran winners"](https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2009/10/oregon_book_awards_honor_new_w.html). *oregonlive*. Retrieved 2026-03-24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [PORT - Portland art + news + reviews](http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2006/08/old_joy_at_cine.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Starr, Karla (2006-08-23). ["Loggernaut Reading Series, Thursday, Aug. 24: Jonathan Raymond on Old Joy and scrubbing toilets"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070929105134/http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3242/7904). Archived from [the original](http://wweek.com/editorial/3242/7904) on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2021-11-07. [Willamette Week](/source/Willamette_Week) August 23, 2006

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Lacey, Liam; Dixon, Guy (2008-12-17). ["Toronto Film Critics choose indie over Hollywood"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081217133633/http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20081217.TOPTEN17/TPStory/Entertainment/). Toronto. Archived from [the original](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081217.TOPTEN17/TPStory/Entertainment) on December 17, 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Best of the Aughts: Film"](http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/best-of-the-aughts-film/216/page_2). *[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)*. Retrieved February 10, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mctop08_8-0)** ["Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090102205252/http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2008/toptens.shtml). [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic). Archived from [the original](http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2008/toptens.shtml) on January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** *Id.*

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Jonathan Raymond](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Jonathan_Raymond).

- [Jonathan Raymond](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1299680/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- Baker, Jeff (January 5, 2009). ["Writer Jon Raymond sees his work realized in Oregon films"](http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2009/01/writer_jon_raymond_sees_his_wo.html). [The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian).

- Pollock, Zoë. ["Art Beat: 'Wendy and Lucy' Explores Landscape of Loss"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100327030545/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/02/wendy-and-lucy-explores-landscape-of-loss.html). *[PBS](/source/Public_Broadcasting_Service)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/02/wendy-and-lucy-explores-landscape-of-loss.html) on March 27, 2010.

- ["Jon Raymond interviewed by Identity Theory"](http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/jon_raymond.php). 2009-03-12.

v t e San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Todd Field and Tom Perrotta (2006) Sarah Polley (2007) Peter Morgan (2008) Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (2009) Aaron Sorkin (2010) Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan (2011) Tony Kushner (2012) John Ridley (2013) Paul Thomas Anderson (2014) Nick Hornby (2015) Eric Heisserer (2016) James Ivory (2017) Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee (2018) Taika Waititi (2019) Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond (2020) Jane Campion (2021) Sarah Polley (2022) Cord Jefferson (2023) Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, and John "Divine G" Whitfield (2024) Paul Thomas Anderson (2025)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND National United States France BnF data Italy Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Poland Israel Other IdRef Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jonathan Raymond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Raymond) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Raymond?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.