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Cherie Jones (born 1974) is a Barbadian writer. Her debut novel, '' How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House'', was shortlisted for the 2021
Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
.


Biography

Cherie Jones was born in 1974. She received her
LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from the
University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...
in 1995 and was admitted to the Bar in Barbados in 1997. She continues to work as a lawyer, in addition to her writing. In 2015, Jones graduated from the
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
writing program at
Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...
, where she received the Archie Markham Award and the A.M. Heath Prize. She went on to complete a PhD in Creative Writing at the
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
. Jones is a single mother of four children and has spoken openly about being a survivor of
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
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Writing career

Jones won the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 1999 with her story "Bride". In 2003, she won second place in the
Frank Collymore Frank Appleton Collymore MBE (7 January 1893 – 17 July 1980) was a Barbadian literary editor, writer, poet, stage performer and painter. His nickname was "Barbadian Man of the Arts". He also taught for 50 years at Combermere School, where he ...
Literary Endowment Awards for unpublished manuscripts for her short story collection ''The Burning Bush Women & Other Stories.'' The collection was published in 2004 by
Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...
. In 2016, Jones won third place in the
Frank Collymore Frank Appleton Collymore MBE (7 January 1893 – 17 July 1980) was a Barbadian literary editor, writer, poet, stage performer and painter. His nickname was "Barbadian Man of the Arts". He also taught for 50 years at Combermere School, where he ...
Literary Endowment Awards for her unpublished interlinked short story collection ''Water for the End of the World''. In 2021, Jones published her debut novel, '' How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House''. The novel is set in 1984 in the fictional town of Baxter's Beach in Barbados. The title is from a cautionary tale in which a girl disobeys her mother and has to lose her arm to escape the consequences. The main protagonist is Lala, who works as a hair-braider for tourists and is trapped in an abusive marriage to petty criminal Adan. On the night Lala gives birth, Adan is involved in the murder of a rich white tourist. The novel describes the brutal aftermath and the violent backstory of Lala and other characters. It uses multiple viewpoints, including a police detective and the murdered man's widow, and examines issues of race, inequality, and cycles of abuse and domestic violence. The novel was the ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' monthly book club pick in February 2021. It was shortlisted for the 2021
Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
and the 2022
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, inaugurated in 2011 by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, is an annual literary award for books by Caribbean writers published in the previous year.International Literature Award International Literature Award (''German'': Internationaler Literaturpreis – Haus der Kulturen der Welt) is a German literary award for international prose translated into German for the first time. The French translation, ''Et d'un seul bras la sœur balaie sa maison'', translated by Jessica Shapiro, won the Prix Carbet des lycéens 2023.


Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Cherie
1974 births Living people 21st-century Barbadian women writers 21st-century Barbadian writers 21st-century novelists Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University Alumni of the University of Exeter Barbadian novelists Women novelists Women short story writers