SITKA — Local author Brendan Jones has made waves with his first novel, “The Alaskan Laundry,” which has appeared on numerous reading lists — and now including Oprah’s.
Oprah’s Book Club selected Jones’ debut novel as one of seven “books to read if you love fierce, smart women.”
The novel, set in the fictional Southeast Alaska town of Port Anna, follows a female protagonist’s journey of self-discovery after moving from Philadelphia to Alaska.
Jones’ novel, released this spring, has also been considered for the Center For Fiction’s First Novel Prize. “The Alaskan Laundry” has been named to the long list for novels eligible for the award for 2016. The award is open to novels published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of the award year.
If “The Alaskan Laundry” qualifies for the short list of seven novels, Jones will win $1,000. If it’s the top winner he’ll receive $10,000 at an awards banquet in Manhattan on Dec. 8.
Jones was born in Philadelphia and moved to Sitka when he was 19, and worked for a time for the Daily Sitka Sentinel. Since then he’s studied at Oxford University in England, commercial fished in Southeast and worked as a carpenter in Philadelphia.
Jones spent the past 10 years working on the novel, which was released in April. His writing has appeared in statewide and national publications, and he recently finished a book tour for “The Alaskan Laundry” that included stops in Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and around Alaska.
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