Michal “MJ” Jones is a Black, queer, and non-binary emerging poet, musician, parent and earth visitor living in Oakland, CA. A talented and curious interdisciplinary writer of essay, poetry and fiction, MJ’s work has been featured in Non-binary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity, Foglifter Press, Everyday Feminism, Black Girl Dangerous, The Body Is Not An Apology, Wear Your Voice Magazine, and other venues. MJ is the recipient of fellowships from the Hurston/Wright Foundation (2019), the Writers Grotto (2019), VONA - Voices of Our Nations (2018), and Kearny Street Workshop's Interdisciplinary Writers Lab (2017 & 2018). In 2019, they were recruited to serve as a panelist for the San Francisco Arts and Berkeley Arts Commissions, reviewing individual grant applications in the literary arts category.

MJ’s words are deeply open and vulnerable, reflect life living at the intersections of identity, and put on display a unique and genuine sense of self-awareness. They are currently busy raising a glorious toddler and working on their first full collection of poetry. MJ will begin their graduate fellowship in the MFA in Poetry program at Mills College in Fall 2019, where they will focus on curating workshops for trans & gender non-conforming writers.