Tayari Jones on Finding Her Voice, Toni Morrison & the Power of Storytelling

A double bill for Toni Morrison in bestselling author Tayari Jones’ book picks – she explains why she’s her favourite author;  the need for deep, ferocious crying when reading; and her unexpected guilty pleasure – a good old murder mystery.

Tayari is the internationally bestselling author of five novels, including An American Marriage, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019. It was also an Oprah’s Book Club selection, was included on Barack Obama’s summer reading list and has been published in two dozen countries, selling over 350,000 copies in the UK alone.

Tayari was born and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is currently professor of Creative Writing at Emory University, and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.

Her most recent novel, Kin, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and has been named a Best Book of the Year so Far. It’s another Oprah Book Club Selection; Oprah called it, “a masterpiece of a novel that will live with you long after you turn the last page.” 

Tayari Jones is a mentor for Originators 2027 – the Women’s Prize Trust’s mentorship and development program, dedicated to supporting emerging women fiction writers from across the United States, presented by CHANEL. Find out more here. 

Tayari’s book choices are: 
09:56  Jazz by Toni Morrison
17:14 Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
24:13 Faithful Place by Tana French
29:53 The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
36:33 Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org  – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 

Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing. 

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