The James Jones Literary Society is a group that celebrates American author James Jones by supporting many writing awards.
History
The Society was started in 1991 at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois. By 2008, it had about 300 members from 34 states and 5 countries. The Society supports a national symposium each year, during which the First Novel Fellowship is given. These events take place in various locations, but return to Robinson, Jones's hometown, every three years.
First Novel Fellowship
The Society's most well-known award is the Annual James Jones First Novel Fellowship. It is supported by Wilkes University. The award was created in 1992. As of 2025, the prize is $12,000, and two runner-up awards are given, each worth $1,000. The award is given to American authors who are writing their first novels. These novels must reflect "the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into modern culture," qualities found in the works of James Jones. In 2011, 667 entries were received for the contest.
Laine Cunningham won the 2003 award for her novel Message Stick. She credits the award with helping U.S. and international agents contact her. Since then, she has created her own writing award.
Other awards
Since 2006, the Society has helped fund the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition, which was started in 2005 by Jesse White, the Secretary of State and State Librarian of Illinois. At first, the competition only included the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award. After the Society became a partner, the competition also added the James Jones Short Story Award. Each award category gives prizes of $500, $300, and $100 for unpublished works. Both awards are named after writers from Illinois.
Since 2007, the Society has been working to create the James Jones Chair in World War II Studies at Eastern Illinois University.
The Society also sponsors an annual Valentine Essay Contest. This contest is based on James Jones’s short story, "The Valentine," and is open to high school seniors in Crawford and Clark counties, Illinois. Prizes of $75 and $50 are given on Valentine’s Day.