Patrick Jones (author)

Patrick Jones is the author of five realistic teen novels, most recently Stolen Car (Walker / Bloomsbury, 2008) and Cheated (Walker / Bloomsbury, 2008). Chasing Tail Lights -- his 2007 novel - was a finalist in the YA category in the 2008 Minnesota Book Award. His first young adult novel Things Change (Walker & Company, 2004) was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as a best book for reluctant readers. Things Change was also honored as a Teen Buckeye Book Award (Ohio) in 2007. His second novel Nailed was published by Walker / Bloomsbury in spring 2006. His most recent (and last) professional publication is Connecting with Reluctant Readers (Neal-Schuman, 2006). He is also the author of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries (Neal-Schuman, 2004), A Core Collection for Young Adults (Neal-Schuman, 2003), Running a Successful Library Card Campaign, A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians (Neal-Schuman, 2002), and Do it Right! Best Practices for Serving Young Adults in School and Public Libraries (Neal-Schuman, 2001). In 2006, he won lifetime achievement awards from both the Catholic Library Association, and the American Library Association. Jones is a frequent speaker at library conferences, having visited all fifty states, as well as in Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Jones grew up in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.