Justin Haynes was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and moved to Brooklyn, NY as a teenager. His writing has been supported by various fellowships including the Fine Arts Work Center, the Tin House Summer workshop, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and the Vermont Studio Center among others. In 2027, he will be a fellow at Civitella Ranieri in Italy.
Haynes’ debut novel, Ibis (2025) has been awarded the PEN Open Book Award, the LA Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, and the OCM award for Caribbean Literature (fiction). It has also been shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Saroyan Prize. Haynes lives and teaches creative writing and literature at Oglethorpe University.