Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds
Reynolds in 2020
Reynolds in 2020
Born (1983-12-06) December 6, 1983 (age 40)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Alma materUniversity of Maryland
GenreYoung adult fiction
Notable works
Notable awardsCoretta Scott King Award
NAACP Image Award
Carnegie Medal
Margaret A. Edwards Award
MacArthur Fellowship
Website
jasonwritesbooks.com

Literature portal

Jason Reynolds (born December 6, 1983) is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle grade audiences. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds found inspiration in rap and had an early focus on poetry, publishing several poetry collections before his first novel in 2014, When I Was the Greatest, which won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

In the next four years, Reynolds wrote eight more novels, most notably the New York Times best-selling Track series — Ghost (2016), Patina (2017), Sunny (2018), Lu (2018) — and As Brave as You (2016). Ghost was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and As Brave as You won the Kirkus Prize, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teen, and the Schneider Family Book Award. Reynolds also wrote a Marvel Comics novel called Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2017).

In 2017, Reynolds returned to poetry with Long Way Down, a novel in verse that was named a Newbery Honor book, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and best young adult work by the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Awards. In 2019, he wrote Look Both Ways, for which he won a Carnegie Medal.

From 2020 to 2022, Reynolds was the Library of Congress' National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.[1][2]

In 2023, Reynolds won the Margaret Edwards Award.[3]

In 2024, Reynolds was named a MacArthur Fellow.[4]

  1. ^ "Jason Reynolds named Library of Congress' national ambassador for young people's literature". CBS News. January 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Schaub, Michael (December 6, 2022). "Library of Congress To Celebrate Jason Reynolds". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Jason Reynolds Wins 2023 Edwards Award for 'When I was the Greatest,' 'The Boy in the Black Suit,' 'All American Boys,' 'Ghost" and "Long Way Down'". American Library Association. January 30, 2023. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).