Nikole Hannah-Jones Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Nikole Hannah-Jones

An American investigative journalist, the writer Nikole Hannah-Jones is known for her incisive and in-depth reporting skills. Covering important issues such as civil-rights, she’s a powerful voice speaking truth on a number of different contemporary topics. Winning the Pulitzer Prize she’s not without recognition either, as she has been lauded by many, highlighting several key subjects with her work. Teaching and educating others, she has a direct and informative style that is both clear and concise, providing all the details.

Whether she is speaking or writing, Jones has managed to garner an audience both nationally as well as internationally. With readers and listeners from around the world, she speaks to universal truths, really getting to the heart of the subject matter. Working as an activist as well, she is someone of conviction, committed to causes of social-justice and assisting others. Over the years she’s established herself as a force to be reckoned with, becoming a familiar face for many both far and wide.

Largely focusing on non-fiction titles, her work is primarily academic, although it remains accessible to a wide-audience. Writing for numerous different outlets as well, her work has become a regular fixture of many different highly prestigious publications. Perhaps most notably though, was her extensive work with the ‘1619 Project,’ which she conducted for ‘The New York Times Magazine.’ With more work expected to follow, she’s a writer and journalist with a lot more to say yet, as she isn’t going to be stopping any time soon.

Early and Personal Life

Born on the 9th of April in 1976, Nikole Hannah-Jones was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, to her father Milton Hannah, who is African-American, and her mother, Cheryl A. Novotny, who is white and of English and Czech descent. Attending schools that were almost all-white with her sister, she was part of desegregation busing voluntary programme, done with the intention of diversifying the schools. Graduating from Waterloo High-School in 1994, she would spend her time there working for the high-school newspaper, getting first-hand experience with journalism.

Later going on to attend the University of Notre Dame, she would receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, which she would gain in African-American studies and history in 1998. She would also go on to graduate in 2003 from the ‘University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media,’ receiving a master’s. Currently living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn in New York, she lives with Faraji Hannah-Jones, her husband, who she married on the 1st of November in 2003.

Writing Career

Joining the outlet ‘ProPublica’ in 2011, Nikole Hannah-Jones would cover civil-rights for them, while investigating the process of redlining. This work would see her make a name for herself, becoming a household name and recognizable writer and journalist for many. Following this she would go on to work for ‘The New York Times’ in 2015, becoming a regular staff reporter for the magazine.

Then, in 2019, she went on to produce ‘The 1619 Project,’ which would be a long-form journalistic approach to rectifying the history of US slavery in the United States. Receiving lots of critical acclaim for her work, she would also receive the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020, as slavery was placed at the forefront of American history. Creating the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting in 2016, she’s become a leading figure in the field of investigative journalism, and will continue to be so for years to come.

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

Initially written for ‘The New York Times Magazine,’ this would begin in August 2019 commemorating the 400th anniversary of when the first ship of enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia. Released as a book in November 2021, it would come out through the ‘Random House’ publishing imprint, with it all being brought together and expanded upon. As a collaborative effort with Nikole Hannah-Jones at the helm, there was also an audio series of podcasts from ‘The New York Times’ to accompany the articles, released in 2019 alongside the original work.

Starting out in August 1619, a ship carrying thirty enslaved people arrived in Virginia at the British colony there. From here Nikole Hannah-Jones embarks on telling the story of the 250 years, as the horrors of American chattel slavery take hold. Across thirty-six poems and eighteen essays, the project compiles the true scope and scale of the tragedy that took place. Seeing how what came from 1619 has influenced every facet of American life and culture, it tells the true story of how slavery build modern America.

Bringing together numerous different pieces, Nikole Hannah-Jones compiles a piece of work that is epic in both its sense of scope and scale. It’s easy to see why it has had the impact it did on its first release, with people still discussing it in-depth to this very day. While it is extensive, it’s clear and accessible, making it a must for anyone interested in history, and how America came to be the country it is today.

Ghosts of Greenwood: Dispatches from Freedom Summer

Taking place over the Freedom Summer of 1964, this looks at the monumental even whereby black and white people headed to Mississippi to secure the right to vote for black people in the state. Here Nikole Hannah-Jones takes a look at the period, heading to Mississippi, reporting on what happened and what it meant for the struggle for civil-rights in modern America. With photographs from Edmund Fountain and a preface from Joseph Sexton, it’s compelling account of positive changes that were made for the better. It’s a long-form piece of journalism that originally came out in the ProPublica outlet on the 8th of July back in 2014.

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Working with children’s author Renée Watson, here Nikole Hannah-Jones chronicles the story of slavery as told in The 1619 Project. Making the story accessible for a younger audience, it follows the story of a young student tracing her family tree back through the generations, and how her ancestors were enslaved and brought to America. Illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, the visuals help tell the story, making sure it’s available to a whole new audience, with the book first coming out in 2021 on the 16th of November to much critical acclaim.