We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jocelyn Nicole below.

Alright, Jocelyn Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

In the summer of 2020, a group of esteemed authors agreed to write ‘blurbs’ for my upcoming debut book of fiction— those brief, glowing endorsements that decorate book jackets and invite other readers to take a look. The first to say yes was National Book Award winner Charles Yu whose inventiveness and heart had inspired me for years. Then, to my relief, other incredible authors sent blurbs too: Danielle Evans, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Megha Majumdar, Mateo Askaripour, and the Roxane Gay. The final endorsement my book received came from Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, who lauded my short stories with an affirming expletive that made me burst out in surprised laughter.

I should share that before my debut was published, I’d worked as a public school art teacher for twenty years, a job I loved as much as I love writing fiction; but teaching in an elementary school had afforded me little contact with published professors or fancy author friends who might vouch for my work. My publishing team and I had essentially reached out to strangers, and those strangers had come through—volunteering their time and attention..

In the years since my book was launched, I’ve been humbled and honored by the responses from other strangers: reviewers and judges and Robin on Good Morning America; a slew of every-day readers including students and teachers and even a traveling book club. But those seven generous authors enveloped my debut in their winning words when I was so nervous about how my stories might be received. This represented a kindness I will not soon forget.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the author of ‘My Monticello’, a fiction debut that was called “a masterly feat” by the New York Times, and winner of the Library of Virginia Fiction Award, the Weatherford Award, the Balcones Fiction Prize, and the Lillian Smith Award, as well as a finalist for the Kirkus Fiction Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Leonard Award, the LA Times Debut Seidenbaum Prize, and long-listed for a Pen/Faulkner Fiction Award and the Story Prize. Before publication, I was a public school art teacher for elementary-aged students for twenty years. I live with my family and two bad dogs, Bug and Bagels, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

To me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is the process of making the art itself. As a writer, that means doing the thorny, often frustrating work of trying to write one compelling sentence after another, until (hopefully) it becomes a compelling story. This requires a particular way of paying attention to the world, to other people, and to my own thoughts and questions.

That sustained act of trying to see the world through the eyes of imagined characters (and puppeteering them through the action of a story) exercises my tenacity, my empathy, and my faith that eventually I’ll figure something out. In the end, if I’m lucky, I’m left with new grit and awe, qualities that propel me into the world in a different way long after the story is done.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Many years before my becoming a published author, I picked up a thick red book at the James River Writing conference, in Richmond Virginia. Over the years ‘The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It . . . Successfully’ (by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry) has remained my go to reference guide for publishing. More of a practical than philosophical guide, I’ve nonetheless found it to be foundational in preparing me for the professional milestones of becoming an author.

For inspiration and more general guidance, I go to the stories of other writers. There are a slew of podcasts where writers discuss art, craft, and their publishing journeys, propelling me along mine. I listen regularly to Ursa Short Fiction (with Dawnie Walton and Deesha Philyaw), Between the Covers (with David Naimon), and the Other People Podcast ( with Brad Listi), to name a few.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jocelynjohnson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jocelynnicolejohnson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JocelynNicoleJohnsonAuthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jocelynjohnson

Image Credits
Billy Hunt, Michael Johnson