Jason Mott

Mott grew up in rural North Carolina and studied fiction and poetry at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, publishing his debut novel The Returned in 2013, which was adapted into the ABC series Resurrection.

Hell of a Book (2021) follows an unnamed Black novelist on a chaotic book tour, his hold on reality slipping as he's shadowed by a possibly imaginary boy called 'the Kid,' the surreal, often very funny narration repeatedly interrupted by real news of Black men and boys killed by police violence; it won the National Book Award.

Mott has continued writing fiction that blends speculative premises with contemporary racial reckoning, and lives in North Carolina.