Mitchell S. Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Author photo, 2016 | |
| Born | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Portland State University (MA) New York University (MFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | |
Mitchell S. Jackson is an American writer.[1] He is the author of the 2013 novel The Residue Years, as well as Oversoul (2012), an ebook collection of essays and short stories.[1] Jackson is a Whiting Award recipient[2] and a former winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.[3] In 2021, while an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Chicago, he won the Pulitzer Prize[4] and the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing for his profile of Ahmaud Arbery for Runner's World.[5] As of 2021, Jackson is the John O. Whiteman Dean's Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at Arizona State University.[6]
He has also been the recipient of fellowships from TED[7] and the Lannan Foundation.[8] Jackson is also a public speaker and documentarian.[1]
Jackson was born in Portland, Oregon.[1] He was raised by a single mother.[9] In his youth, he was arrested on drug charges and sent to prison,[10] where he took an interest in literature and began experimenting with autobiographical writing.[9]
Following his release in the summer of 1998,[10] Jackson received a Master of Arts in writing from Portland State University, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from New York University.[1]
Jackson is a father of two.[11]
In 2012, Jackson published Oversoul: Stories & Essays, an ebook compilation of short fiction and non-fiction.[1] His debut novel, The Residue Years, was released in the summer of 2013 and was praised by publications such as The New York Times,[12] The Paris Review,[13] and The Sydney Morning Herald.[14] Jackson is a Whiting Award recipient.[2] The Residue Years also won The Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence[3] and was short-listed for the Center For Fiction's Flaherty-Dunnan First novel prize,[15] the PEN/ Hemingway award for first fiction,[16] The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for best fiction by a writer of African descent;[17] it was short-listed for the William Saroyan International Prize for writing,[18] and named an "Honor Book" by the BCALA.[19] He has been the recipient of fellowships from TED,[7] the Lannan Foundation,[8] The Center For Fiction,[20] and The Bread Loaf Writer's Conference.[21]
Jackson is the co-director, writer, and producer of The Residue Years: A Documentary (2013), a documentary film exploring the autobiographical elements of his novel of the same name.[22] It was an Official Selection of the Portland Film Festival.[23] It premiered on the Web at the Literary Hub website.[22]
Jackson's short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have been published in Vice, Esquire, Gigantic Magazine, Flaunt Magazine, The Frozen Moment: Contemporary Writers on the Choices That Change Our Lives, and New York Tyrant, among other publications. He was the first Black columnist for Esquire.[24]
Jackson is a former TED speaker.[7] He has also read and/or and lectured at institutions including Brown University,[25] Middlebury College,[26] and UMASS;[27] at events including The Brooklyn Book Festival,[28] and the Sydney Writers' Festival;[29] at various adult prisons and youth facilities;[1] and for organizations including The Pathfinders of Oregon,[30] The PEN/Faulkner Foundation,[31] and The Volunteers of America. He has served on the faculty of New York University,[32] Columbia University,[33] and the University of Chicago.[34] He is currently on the faculty at Arizona State University.[6]
Jackson published Survival Math: Notes on an All American Family in 2019.[35] It was selected for Time's 100 Must-Read Books of 2019,[36] NPR's Books We Love 2019,[37] and Buzzfeed's Best Books of 2019.[38]
