Jonathan Miles (born January 28, 1971) is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Dear American Airlines'', was published by

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Fina ...

in 2008. The novel, written in the form of a complaint letter to the titular airline, was reviewed by Richard Russo in ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. His second novel, ''Want Not'', was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2013.

Early life

Jonathan Miles was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

; his family moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, but Miles ran away when he was 17, moving to

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...

, eventually attending the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

and taking a writing class with

Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...

. Finding work as a newspaper reporter and aspiring jazz musician, Miles met novelist Larry Brown. The two became friends, and while Miles didn't graduate "Ole Miss", Brown taught and encouraged Miles to write: "It was an astonishing education. Some people go to the Iowa Writer's Workshop. I had Larry."

Literary career

While Miles never studied journalism in college, his work soon found publication in a local literary magazine, the ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on '' ...

'', and he continued to contribute essays and critique for several years. A friend suggested Miles apply as a reporter for '' The Oxford Eagle'', and while the pay wasn't good, being forced to churn out daily copy gradually improved his ability to write more dispassionately about complex and emotional subjects. Miles claims he was fired by the paper years later for writing an obituary about a subject who had admitted regularly providing bootlegged liquor to noted Oxford resident

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

and correctly reporting the fact. Fortunately, Miles's writing caught the eye of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' editor

Will Blythe Will Blythe is a magazine writer and book author living in New York City. He is a former literary editor at ''Esquire'' magazine but is now a contributing editor for Harper's and Mirabella, and writes for many other periodicals, including The Ne ...

, who published an account Miles wrote of an ingenious prison escape he'd investigated while writing for the Oxford paper. Miles soon developed a reputation as a keen observer of Mississippi culture, selling essays to ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'', ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenne ...

'' and ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

''. He credits his early literary voice to his time in Oxford, Mississippi, but when ''Men's Journal'' offered him an annual contract Miles was already driving a moving van toward

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in search of such an opportunity. Miles's novel ''Dear American Airlines'' received the following honors: * ''The New York Times Book Review'' 100 notable books of 2008 (one of seven debut novels to be included) * ''The Wall Street Journal'' dozen "most memorable" books of 2008 * ''Los Angeles Times'' favorite books of 2008 * Amazon.ca top 50 editors' picks for 2008 (#27) * A.V. Club favorite books of 2008

Works

* ''Dear American Airlines'' (Boston:

, 2008) * ''Want Not'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013) * ''Anatomy of a Miracle'' (Hogarth, 2018)

References

External links

*
Los Angeles Times
* https://www.npr.org/2008/06/28/91993801/fictional-airline-passenger-disgruntled-with-life {{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Jonathan 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 1971 births Living people 21st-century American male writers