“Could Stephen Jones be the Jordan Peele of horror literature? …
He just might be.” — Entertainment Weekly

California Institute of the Arts is pleased to announce New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones as its 2023 Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence.

Jones, the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians, and 30 other books, is widely known and loved for his innovative approach to genre, particularly horror. His CalArts residency and public reading at REDCAT take place in advance of his highly anticipated sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw. Titled Don’t Fear the Reaper (part two of The Indian Lake Trilogy), the book will be released on Feb. 7, 2023, by Simon & Schuster.

The Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence Program—housed within the MFA Creative Writing Program in the CalArts School of Critical Studies—brings a prestigious writer to CalArts each year for a public reading and meetings with students. Past residents include Hilton Als, Roxane Gay, Junot Diaz, and George Saunders. This year’s public reading returns to the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Downtown Los Angeles, with a streaming option available for online audiences.

“Coming out of the terrain of literary horror, Stephen Graham Jones has been cutting his own singular—often exuberantly bloody—path through American literature for some time now,” says Anthony McCann, the director of CalArts’ Creative Writing MFA Program. “We’re so thrilled to have him join us this January to share his work and his perspectives on writing with our students, the CalArts community, and the wider public.”

An important figure in contemporary Native American literature, Jones—a member of the Blackfeet Nation—adroitly remixes the conventions of literary horror fiction to construct disturbing, funny, and moving depictions of contemporary American life, especially as it is lived at the rural margins of the American West. In his work, the past is always alive and lurking somewhere in the dark just beyond the beams of our headlights.

The Ivena Baldwin Professor of English and a professor of distinction at the University of Colorado Boulder, Jones is the recipient of many literary awards, including the Ray Bradbury Award from the Los Angeles Times, the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award.

On Thursday, Jan. 19, Jones will visit the CalArts campus to give two workshops for students, as well as an evening lecture. On Friday, Jan. 20, Jones will take the REDCAT stage for a public reading of new and previous works.

The Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence is made possible by a generous donation from the Jacobson Family.

TICKETS & INFORMATION
Stephen Graham Jones
CalArts Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence
Friday, Jan. 20 at 8:30 pm PST

Ticketing:
$12 for general admission ($10 virtual)
$10 for REDCAT members and students ($8 virtual)
$6 for CalArts students, faculty, and staff ($5 virtual)

Tickets can be purchased at:
https://www.redcat.org/events/2023/stephen-graham-jones

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California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines, and cultural traditions.

CalArts’ School of Critical Studies brings together internationally recognized writers, poets, scholars, and thinkers working in both new and traditional forms across a wide variety of disciplines, extending from narrative fiction, performance, and multimedia to cultural criticism and political theory. The school offers two graduate programs: the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program and the Master of Arts Aesthetics and Politics Program. In both programs, the expertise of Institute faculty is complemented with an extensive series of readings, lectures, workshops, and longer-term residencies by a diverse range of visiting writers, theorists, and artists.

The Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT), CalArts’ downtown center for contemporary arts, is a multidisciplinary center for innovative visual, performing, and media arts founded by CalArts in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles. Through performances, exhibitions, screenings, and literary events, REDCAT introduces diverse audiences, students, and artists to the most influential developments in the arts from around the world, and gives artists in this region the creative support they need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT continues the tradition of the California Institute of the Arts, its parent organization, by encouraging experimentation, discovery, and lively civic discourse. For current program and exhibition information, visit redcat.org.