The following organizations received grants from the NEA Big Read to plan programming around Silver Sparrow. Dates and times will be posted on this “Appearances” page. Black Storytellers of San Diego, Chula Vista, California Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York … Continue reading →
“A writer of great imagination, Irving can sell the reader on nearly any plot twist no matter how incredible — from a murderous statue of the Virgin Mary to a pride of anthropomorphized lionesses to a pair of (possibly) paranormal, … Continue reading →
The National Endowment for the Arts announced that two contemporary novels written by female writers will join the Big Read library—Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones and In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. These novels will be available for organizations … Continue reading →
Tayari Jones has been selected for membership into the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Founded in 1987 by a group of writers who met in Chattanooga, the Fellowship of Southern Writers is a nonprofit organization which has for its objective the … Continue reading →
Henrico Country Public Library has chosen Silver Sparrow for the 2015 “All Henrico Reads,” a community reading program that aims to encourage a sense of community and promote literacy. Group discussions of Silver Sparrow will be held at public libraries … Continue reading →
Why isn’t Jones a household name, and why isn’t this unputdownable book on every must-read list? “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist,” reveals protagonist Dana in the opening sentence of a novel that is by turns … Continue reading →
The South has begotten some of our nation’s most important authors, including prize winners like William Styron, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Ralph Ellison, Harper Lee, and that titan of American letters, William Faulkner. These 50 novels are a reminder … Continue reading →
Bookpage lists Tayari Jones’s 2002 debut, Leaving Atlanta, as one of the best debuts of the decade. Which signal the beginnings of a successful career? Which are flashes in the pan? It’s often hard to tell. With these 25 debuts, however, … Continue reading →
NEW YORK, NY – Girls Write Now (GWN), New York’s first and only writing and mentoring program for high school girls, celebrates its 15th Anniversary with the launch of the Girls Write Now Awards. This annual event will honor women whose … Continue reading →
Brazos Valley Reads (BVR) is a community effort organized by Texas A&M University’s Department of English with extensive support from various groups in the university and the community. It was started to encourage bridge building between Texas A&M’s students and … Continue reading →
On April 7th, Tayari Jones will deliver the closing keynote address at the 2013 Writers Digest Conference in New York City. The address, “You Already Have Everything You Need,” will be an inspirational message drawing from Jones’s own experiences as … Continue reading →
Silver Sparrow is among 154 books, nominated by libraries in 120 cities, in 44 countries, in 19 languages. The longlist, which is announced in November of each year, is the full list of all eligible nominated novels submitted by the participating … Continue reading →
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has selected Tayari Jones to receive the “Lifetime Acheivement Award in Fine Arts”, to be presented on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at the annual Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts event to be held … Continue reading →
Compiled by a committee of Texas librarians, the annual list of Lariat award winners calls attention to outstanding fiction published during the year that merit special attention from adult readers. The main criteria for selecting books for the Lariat List … Continue reading →
