Jason Reynolds is an American author who writes novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade children.

Born in Washington DC in 1983, Reynolds grew up with his three siblings, just across the Maryland border in Oxon Hill. Her mother was a special education teacher and worked hard enough to bring up four of her children.

Reynolds is a relatively young author. He was first inspired to write poems by a rap album when he was nine years old. Though he had already written a few poems when he was 10, he didn’t start reading books until 17.

His primary worked focused on poetry for the next twenty years, and his first book, a collection of his poems, came out in 2001.

Early Life

One of his earliest poems was written about his grandmother’s death when he was 10. He really loved his mother and wrote that poem in an effort to console her. That poem was read on the day of the funeral.

After that, Reynolds wrote a poem at the death of each of his grandmother’s siblings. Writing these poems introduced him to the true power of language. He then continued to pursue poetry through high school and college.

His English teachers at both school and college strongly discouraged him because his love for poetry was costing him grades. His grades suffered, but he didn’t stop following his passion.

He finally graduated with a B.A in English from the University of Maryland.

Writing

Reynolds worked at a DC bookstore chain that specialized in African-American literature during his college days. It was at this store where he read prose that coincided with his feelings for the first time.

Black Boy was the first-ever novel that he read, which led him to further explore the great African-American literature available at that store.

After graduating from college, Reynolds moved to New York with his classmate Jason Griffin, an illustrator, and a visual artist. Together, they self-published a book called SELF, combining Griffin’s visual art and Reynold’s poetry. 

This book got them started, and they got an agent and a book contract. Four years later, they published another book together, which was a memoir about migrating to New York to pursue their dreams and follow their passion.

Reynolds was also friends with Chris Myers (son of Walter Dean Myers) – who suggested Reynolds to look at some of his father’s work. This proved vital in developing his writing style, and Reynolds admits it taught him to “write in my voice.” He went on to publish 12 books from 2014 to 2019 and got significant awards and honors for his writings.

Acclamation/Awards

Reynolds got his first taste of success with the John Steptoe New Talent Award in 2015.

He won the inaugural Walter Dean Myers Award in 2016 for the book that he co-authored – All American Boys. The book won a Coretta Scott King Honor as well. In 2016, he published his most notable work, a New York Times Best Seller, Ghost, the first part of a track series, which was the finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

In 2017, Reynolds won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth for his book As Brave As You. The book also won the Kirkus Prize, Schneider Family Book Award, and a Coretta Scott King Honor.

His book Long Way Down was named a 2018 Newbery Honor by the American Library Association, a Printz Honor Book, best young adult work at the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Awards, a Walter Dean Myers Award, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth.

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He was a finalist once again for the National Book Award in 2019 for Look Both Ways, which also made to the New York Times Best Selling List.

In 2020 he was declared National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature at the Library of Congress.

Notable Works

Reynolds’ writing is focused on minority characters that he believes reflect the modern world.

In an interview, he shared his unique writing process. He doesn’t start with a particular audience in mind. Instead, he focuses on finding the authentic voice of his character and lets that decide who this book would appeal to.

His works, both novels, and poetry have been critically acclaimed. Here are a few notable mentions.

• When I Was The Greatest , 2014

Reynolds’ debut book describes the heart and the hardship of life for an urban teen – Ali. The boy crashes an illegal party in the basement of a nearby brownstone with two of his friends and then deals with the consequences. The book is moving and thought-provoking.

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• All American Boys, 2015

The book portrays a black teenager who is wrongly suspected of stealing and assaulted in a convenience store by a white police officer. The book is written in two voices. One is Reynolds’, who describes the victim’s point, and the second is a white boy’s voice who witnessed the brutal attack.

• Long Way Down, 2018 (Poetry)

This book is from 2017 and is a novel written in verse. Reynolds describes a 15-year old who witnesses his brother shot to death. It is based on Reynolds’s true experience of having a friend murdered when Reynolds was 19.

The book was a New York Times Best Seller and received many honors and awards.

• Look Both Ways: A Tale Told In Ten Blocks, 2019

The book depicts middle schoolers walking home from school and portrays their perspective. Reynolds’ focus was describing the children’s time when they are unsupervised and exposed to the world. This book was a national award finalist and a New York Times Best Seller as well.

Reynolds has many other critically acclaimed books to his name, focusing on the hardships and experiences of black teens in the USA. His books are inspired by his own life experiences and the past work of notable authors who wrote for black kids and young adults.

Click link to visit Jason’s website  https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/