Jason Mott is an American novelist and poet. His fourth novel, '' Hell of a Book'', won the 2021

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...

Early life and education

Mott was born in

Bolton, North Carolina Bolton is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 519 at the 2020 census. History Bolton was established in 1899 and named for the Bolton Lumber Company. It became an incorporated community in 1915. In 19 ...

. He attended

Cape Fear Community College Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) is a Public college, public community college in Wilmington, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 23,000 students each year. The service area of Cape Fear Community College includes New Hanover County, North Caroli ...

and graduated from the

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a Public university, public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Caroli ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in Fiction and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Poetry.

Writing

Mott's debut novel, '' The Returned'', was published in 2013. It centered on the return of dead people to the living world and their impact on the daily lives of the people around them. The novel was adapted into the television series ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

'', which was produced by

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

and aired in 2014. Mott's second novel, ''The Wonder of All Things'', was published in 2014. It is a magically realistic look at the tension between protecting a child's gift of supernatural healing and sacrificing it for the greater good. Mott's third novel, ''The Crossing'', was published in 2018. It is a

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

thriller that follows two siblings forced on the run to do whatever it takes to survive. Mott's fourth and most critically acclaimed novel, '' Hell of a Book'', was published by

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

on June 29, 2021. It is at times an absurdist and metafictional look into the complex and fraught African American experience. On November 17, 2021, the novel was awarded the 2021

. It also received the 2021 Sir Walter Raleigh Prize for Fiction and the 2022 Housatonic Book Award for Fiction. It was shortlisted for the 2022

Chautauqua Prize The Chautauqua Prize is an annual American literary award established by the Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, N ...

. It was also longlisted for the 2022

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction __NOTOC__ The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year. They are named in honor of ni ...

, the 2022

Aspen Words Literary Prize The Aspen Words Literary Prize, established in 2018, is an annual literary award presented by Aspen Words, a literary center in Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is ...

, and the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize. It was also a finalist for the 2022 Maya Angelou Book Award. Mott was the recipient of a 2024

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Fellowship for Creative Writing.

Awards

Literary prize

Honors

* 2024

Fellowship for Creative Writing

Works

Novels

* * * *

Poetry collections

* *

Short fiction

* — (2023). "Best of Luck". Seattle, Washington:

Amazon Original Stories Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mytho ...

. .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mott, Jason Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century African-American writers African-American novelists American male novelists National Book Award winners Novelists from North Carolina People from Columbus County, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Wilmington alumni Year of birth missing (living people) African-American male writers