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Stephen Graham Jones

This guide is an introduction to the Stephen Graham Jones archive held within the James Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World.

The Archive

Stephen Graham Jones Papers, 1950-2020 and undated

Acquired in 2018 and augmented in 2020, the original collection is comprised of 32 boxes and 1 oversize folder. The collection contains personal and editorial correspondence and drafts for major works, including his first two published novels: The Fast Red Road (2000) and All the Beautiful Sinners (2003), his more recent novels The Only Good Indians (2020), the Indian Lake Trilogy (2021-2024), and The Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives (2025), along with numerous short pieces. Three boxes of journals document Jones's early stages of the writing process. Seven boxes chronicle his undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University and his graduate work at the University of North Texas and Florida State University. Another two boxes document his time as a Teaching Assistant and his early faculty years. The collection also includes ephemera, photographs, and computer-based media (not currently accessible to the public). 

Stephen Graham Jones Papers, 1998-2022 and undated

Acquired in 2022, the second collection is comprised of 3 boxes and 1 oversize folder. The collection contains correspondence, including editorial notes for unpublished novel-length projects. Major projects documented in this collection include the first two installments of the Indian Lake Trilogy, My Heart is Chainsaw (2021) and Don't Fear the Reaper (2023), and the television adaptation of The Only Good Indians (2020). The collection also includes drafts for short stories, publicity material, and ephemera.

Stephen Graham Jones Papers, 1995-2023 and undated

Acquired in 2023, the most recent collection is comprised of 2 boxes and 1 oversize folder. This collection contains material related to the final installment of the Indian Lake Trilogy, The Angel of Indian Lake (2024), I Was a Teenage Slasher (2024), and the dystopian comic book series Earthdivers (2022-). The collection also includes drafts for short stories, publicity material, and ephemera.

 

Documenting the Creative Process

Like most literary archives, Stephen's collections document his writing process. Many of his stories and novels begin with a few lines in one of his journals; or, as in one instance, a few lines on a cocktail napkin. You'll find drafts with Stephen's edits and those of his earliest readers. You'll see titles change, chapters move, and entire projects being reconceived. For example, Stephen employed at least two other titles for what would eventually become The Only Good Indians.

A June 2018 draft shows a working draft titled Where the Old Ones Go. Just one month later, in July 2018, the novel is now under the working title Elk Head Woman. When the manuscript made it to copyediting in July 2019, its final title, The Only Good Indians, was firmly in place.  

You'll find each item in the Stephen Graham Jones Papers, 1950-2020 and undated (Box 31, Folders 6, 7, and 10).