Faculty and Visiting Faculty

 

Kaylie jones

Visiting Professor, Creative Writing
Kaylie Jones is a novelist, creative nonfiction writer, and editor. Her memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me, was released by Harper Collins in 2009. Her third novel, A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries (Bantam, 1990), was adapted as a Merchant Ivory Film in 1998. Celeste Ascending was published by Harper Collins in 2000 and her novel Speak Now was released by Akashic Books in 2003. Her novels have been translated into many languages including French, Dutch, German, and Japanese. Kaylie taught fiction at The Writer’s Voice from 1988 to 1996, before helping to create Long Island University's MFA Program in Writing at Southampton campus, now the Stony Brook Southampton MFA Program in Creative Writing, where she still teaches. Currently, she chairs the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, which awards $10,000 annually to an unpublished first novel. Many of the winners have gone on to publish to critical acclaim. Kaylie is also the proud editor of the Long Island Noir anthology, published by Akashic Books in spring 2012. In November 2011, Kaylie was given an award by the National Coalition Against Censorship for her work in bringing to print an unexpurgated, uncensored edition of her father’s classic novel, From Here to Eternity. Kaylie’s newest and probably most important endeavor is the launch of her imprint, Kaylie Jones Books, under the aegis of Akashic Books. In the last three years she has published seven titles, including award winners and two national best-sellers. Kaylie’s most recent novel, The Anger Meridian, was published by Akashic Books in June, 2015. She holds an MFA in Creative writing from Columbia University.

FACULTY INTERVIEW:

What genre(s) do you write in?

I am primarily a fiction writer, though I also published one full-length memoir and essays.

What is the thing that excites you about the act of writing?

It's like living in a completely different universe without ever leaving your chair. When I'm really focused on writing, the whole day could pass and I won’t move. I love traveling, both physically and in my mind, and that love is definitely a part of it. Writing can really be another reality, another world.

Do you feel like your work is in conversation with other writers or work? If so, who/what?

I have friends who read for me and I read for them, which is a really important kind of communication to have. I have also been running a master class for many years now. Many people come and go. Many people get published and come back just because they like to have the circle. That group has always kept me focused on my writing.

I also ran a publishing company as an imprint of Akashic books, which was always full of conversation. We had all these books in the pipeline, discussing the jacket and how we were going to market it and how we were going to edit it and so forth. The literary world was always right there.

What literary magazine would you recommend to your students?

I think The Writer’s Chronicle is a really good one for finding out about different programs, fellowships, awards, and magazines. Poets and Writers is fantastic for writers to keep in touch and know what's going on. The Atlantic is very good to stay plugged in and feel like you're not alone in the world right now, because it sure feels lonely out there at times these days. 

Hippocampus Magazine is fantastic for creative nonfiction, founded by a former student of mine. Also, Kinsman was created by Monique Franz, and publishes underrepresented writers of color.

What is your writing process?

It has changed a lot over the years. When I had my daughter, it was very difficult to find time to sit down and write. I just wrote whenever I could, any time she'd have a nap, it didn't matter what time it was. I know that's how a lot of people have to do it. I have been very lucky because I was always teaching or writing; I’ve never had a full-time job except very early on. I've been very lucky that way. And now my daughter is grown, so the schedule's much more tailored to my own needs. I get a very early start and I write until I run out of steam. Then, I take a break before I address all my other work, like teaching and reading manuscripts. 

How do you generate ideas?

I'm not positive how that happens. Is it out of necessity? Does your brain just figure something out? I think most of my novels are autobiographical up to a certain point, especially when I was younger. My last novel came to me on the bathroom floor in my house in San Diego in the middle of the pandemic, on the night of the 2020 election. Another came to me when my daughter and I were standing on a balcony in Mexico, on a cliff side. Sometimes the idea is just right there; it just hits you.

How do you manage when you get stuck?

Getting stuck is more a psychological state than anything else. I think it's panic based, and after writing seven books, I have learned it's a temporary fear. If I get stuck, I know that something's wrong. I might have gone in the wrong direction or hit a roadblock. I have to work it out like a puzzle. Just take three steps back and think about it. I work it out in my head first and then sit down and try to smooth it out in the narrative.

If you get stuck because the idea no longer interests you, it’s still very important to be able to pull back and say, okay, how far back was it that it went wrong? You also need other readers to remind you it’s going in the right direction, or not.

And on those days where you open your computer and feel like every word is bad, those are the days to put it aside and go read a book.

Inspiration or perspiration?

My dad was also a writer. He used to say it was 10% inspiration, 80% perspiration and 10% ambition. I think that's true.

If you weren't a writer, what job would you have?

I'm a good teacher, and I say that with great pride. I’ve been teaching for a very long time and I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity. But if teaching doesn’t count, I would be a Tarot card reader.

Do you have a writing tip for emerging writers?

I have a couple! One is to write what you're passionate about. Picking a subject that you're not going to tire of is crucial, because if you grow tired of it then your reader is going to grow tired of it as well. The second one would be not planning to work only on specific days, because life is going to pile up and you won’t get it done. So it's better to sit down, even for just 15 minutes a day. 15 minutes a day can really pile up, and it keeps your engine oiled and your brain it it, too.