About
Robert Jones, Jr. (formerly known as “Son of Baldwin”) is a Brooklyn-based writer and public speaker. He is the author of The New York Times bestselling novel, The Prophets, which won the 2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Variety, and The Paris Review, as well as in the critically acclaimed anthologies Four Hundred Souls and The 1619 Project. The Prophets was named one of “The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature” by The New York Times.
Featured Work
THE PROPHETS
A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence
Other Works
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the 2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction
- Finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction
Press and Media Mentions
- “Six of the year’s buzziest authors discuss bringing their books into the world during cultural upheaval,” Entertainment Weekly, July 28, 2020.
- The Vigorous Vulnerability of Robert Jones, Jr.’s Debut Novel The Prophets
- Robert Jones Jr. Is Son of Baldwin, and More
- "BookExpo Proves You Can Have a Trade Show in a Pandemic, Virtually," The New York Times, January 5, 2020.
- “Black Male Writers for Our Time”, The New York Times, November 30, 2018.
