Robert Jones, Jr. (formerly known on social media as “Son of Baldwin”) is a Brooklyn, New York-based writer and public speaker. He is the author of The New York Times bestselling novel, The Prophets, which won the 2022 Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. His writings have been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Variety, and The Paris Review, as well as in the critically acclaimed anthologies Four Hundred Souls and The 1619 Project. The Prophets was named one of “The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature” by The New York Times. Subscribe to Robert's newsletter, Witness, at robertjonesjr.[...].

ONE OF THE BIGGEST BREAKOUT DEBUTS OF THE YEAR: The Prophets debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at #8 and has been an indie bestseller for months. Starting with the BookExpo Buzz panel, enthusiasm for The Prophets has been phenomenal, with glowing reviews and profiles in outlets such as The New York Times (including the cover of the Book Review), NPR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, and more.

PROMOTABLE, BELOVED AUTHOR: Robert Jones, Jr. is an acclaimed and decorated writer who has been featured in several literary magazines and journals, as well as in The New York Times, The Paris Review, and Essence. He was selected by the Times' T magazine for their feature "Black Male Writers for Our Time," and is a contributing writer for OneWorld's Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.

A STRONG AND ENGAGED PLATFORM: As creator of the social-justice social media community Son of Baldwin, which also comprises his social handles, Jones already has an established voice and a tremendous following. His pages are very active and have strong engagement, with 155k+ followers on Facebook, 64.6k+ on Twitter, and 55.5k+ on Instagram. His followers are highly engaged and buzzing about this novel.

TIMELY, RELEVANT, AND IMPORTANT: A FUTURE CLASSIC The Prophets is a major American novel about race, slavery, and the treatment of marginalized groups in American history. Set against a powerful and emotional human narrative, it takes such a history and makes it feel prescient to our contemporary times and our larger national conversation about race. It depicts an era of history, interweaving American brutality with both the beauty and brutal colonization of the African continent.

GENRE EXCELS IN PAPERBACK: As seen with the paperback success of other groundbreaking historical novels, such as The Nickel Boys and Washington Black, The Prophets is poised to perform incredibly well in the paperback format.