Texas Tech Author Reads Excerpt from Award-Winning Story

Written by: Gretchen Pressley

WHO: Stephen Graham Jones, associate professor of English at Texas Tech

WHAT: Jones will perform a fiction reading, at which he will read aloud an excerpt of his award-winning short story, "Raphael," and, time permitting, another short story or part of one of his novels.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Thursday (March 1)

WHERE: Room 001, English building

WHY: Because of the recent news surrounding his short story "Raphael," Jones has agreed to give a special fiction reading to the Lubbock community.

Jones, a graduate of Texas Tech, is the award-winning author of four full-length novels and a short story collection. His novels are written as a mix of both horror and science fiction. His most recent book is the horror novel, "Demon Theory."

"Raphael" is about the perceived reality of scary stories, and what would happen if they became real. It was first published in "Cemetery Dance," an award-winning, bi-monthly magazine of horror, dark mystery and suspense.

The short story will be published in the 20th edition of "The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror," released in August, and the 2007 edition of "Horror: The Best of the Year," released in March. "Raphael" has also been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, sponsored by the Horror Writers Association.

Jones’ short story collection was a finalist for the Violet Crown Award, sponsored by the Writers League of Texas, and it earned the Texas Institute of Letters’ 2005 Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction. Past awards include the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.


CONTACT: Stephen Graham Jones, associate professor of creative writing, Department of English, (806) 742-2500 ext. 238; stephen.jones@ttu.edu.