Jas Hammonds

Jas Hammonds is an American writer of young adult fiction. They are best known for their debut novel We Deserve Monuments, which won the 2023 Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

Early life and background

Hammonds grew up in several cities across the United States and cites early reading experiences such as Dr. Seuss’s There’s a Wocket in My Pocket and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice in Rapture, Sort of as formative influences. They identify as Black, queer, and non‑binary, and have lived in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to pursuing writing professionally, Hammonds worked as a flight attendant.

Literary career

We Deserve Monuments (2022)

Set in a fictional town in Georgia, the novel follows a biracial Black teenager who moves to care for her ailing grandmother. The narrative explores themes of love, family, intergenerational trauma, and racism. Written originally as a ghost story in 2016, it was published by Roaring Brook, an imprint of Macmillan, in the summer of 2022. The book received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, School Library Journal, BookPage, and Shelf Awareness. It was selected for IndieBound’s Summer/Fall 2022 Indies Introduce YA list and named a Best Book of 2022 by both Kirkus and the School Library Journal. The novel earned Hammonds the Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2023.

Thirsty (2024)

Hammonds’s second novel, published in May 2024, centers on a mixed‑race lesbian college student who joins an exclusive sorority to gain connections with powerful women of color while coping with anxiety, financial pressure, and alcohol use. The work continues Hammonds’s focus on mental health, queerness, mixed‑racial identity, and the complexities of friendship and family.

Awards and fellowships

• Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award for New Talent (2023) – for We Deserve Monuments
• James Baldwin Fellowship at MacDowell (2020)
• Additional fellowships from the Highlights Foundation, Lambda Literary Review, and Baldwin for the Arts.

Themes and influences

Hammonds’s writing frequently addresses mental health, queer identity, Blackness, mixed‑racial experiences, and nuanced family dynamics. Their work is noted for bittersweet endings and an emphasis on emotional authenticity.

Bibliography (selected)

Personal life

Hammonds resides in the United States and maintains an active online presence through a personal website (www.jashammonds.com) and social media platforms. They continue to write, speak at literary events, and engage with readers on topics of diversity and inclusion in young adult literature.