Edward Paul Jones, a professor of English at George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, has two books listed on the New York Times’s list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.
The list was created by The New York Times Book Review to highlight the most important and influential books of the era.
Jones’s novel, “The Known World,” ranked number 4. The book tells the story of a farmer, bootmaker and former slave named Henry Townsend who in a twist of fate becomes the proprietor of his own plantation. "The Known World" is the highest-ranked American novel on the list. Jones received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the International Dublin Literary Award for the novel. His other book, “All Aunt Hagar’s Children,” a collection of short stories, also made the NYT’s list at number 70.
"It is humbling, especially when one considers all the writers who are never recognized," wrote Jones after learning that his books had made the list.
In a joint statement, English department chair Tony Lopez and creative writing director Lisa Page congratulated Jones for his remarkable achievement. "The brilliance of Edward’s literary work is matched by his excellence as a teacher and colleague," the statement read.