Whose Monticello?

Charlottesville writer Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s first book is getting a lot of buzz. She’s earned accolades from acclaimed authors, like Colson Whitehead, who called My Monticello “a badass debut by any measure—nimble, knowing, and electrifying.” It’s a Kirkus Prize finalist, and a Netflix adaptation is already in the works. “It’s great and a little crazy,” […]

Writing past wrongs: Author Jocelyn Johnson looks for new American truths

When local author and teacher Jocelyn Johnson started receiving Twitter direct messages from literary giant Roxane Gay, she thought to herself, “Something good is going to happen.” Just like that, a series of emphatic pings announced her arrival into a rarefied sphere: Johnson’s story, “Control Negro,” was hand-selected by Gay to be featured in Best […]