"With this book it's more of a tap on the shoulder to expand one's gaze throughout the Americas. People are suffering beyond highlighted borders."
— Justin Haynes, Lit Hub
Justin Haynes' debut novel Ibis was released in February, 2025 by The Overlook Press. Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown has called Haynes' Ibis a "a stunning debut as witty as it is rapturous," describing the author as an "absolute alchemist of fiction" with a "carefully crafted mixture of unexpected sources culled and combined to tell the story of a Venezuelan child refugee and the people of New Felicity." Breanne Mc Ivor (author of The God of Good Looks) writes, “Long after I turned the last page, I'm still thinking of this novel's interrogation of the histories of Venezuelan and the Carribean.” Ravi Howard (author of Like Trees, Walking) recognizes Ibis as "a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity." In addition to a starred review, Publishers Weekly compares Haynes' writing to the "themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler."
Earlier this year, in an interview with Debutiful, Haynes shares his earliest book obsessions and some recommendations for younger writers: "Teenagers should be encouraged to gaze into their minds' abyss and recokon with what gazes back." He also notes the influence of Caribbean folkore on his writing. He also joined Haley Mlotek, Shane McCrae, Maggie Su, and John Warner for a collaborative interview with Lit Hub. When asked what Ibis is about, Haynes answers, "Ibis is about contending with the past in the present and realizing that time present and time past, as Eliot tells us, are both perhaps present in time future."
During his author Q&A at Lone Star College-Kingwood, Haynes discusses everything from migrant crises and the migration patterns of birds to questions about magical realism:
"I grew up with folklore stories about magical creatures and, to me, they were absolutely real in my imagination and that plays a part in the experience of these characters"
Haynes has also recently given readings and author talks at Bocas Lit Fest, the LA Times Festival of Books, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, and the Center for Fiction.
Justin Haynes was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and later moved to Brooklyn, New York. Having earned his MFA from Notre Dame, he continued his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University. He has been awarded various fiction residencies and fellowships, including from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Vermont Studio Center, the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. His writing has been published in a variety of literary magazines and journals, including Caribbean Quarterly, SX Salon Small Axe Project, and PREE. Justin lives in Atlanta and teaches English at Oglethorpe University.