ABOUT JAY COLES

JAY COLES, AUTHOR & COMPOSER

Jay Coles (b. 1995) is a composer, author, conductor, clinician, and educator who brings fun, unique, and highly educational music to the stage. His music has been performed all over the world, including the Midwest Clinic. His music appears on various concert and festival lists as well as earned J.W. Pepper's Editor's choice selections. Jay holds degrees from Vincennes University and Ball State University.

Jay's books are published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Scholastic. His books have appeared in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Entertainment Weekly, among other media outlets. His writing has won numerous award nominations and honors. Jay currently resides in Muncie, Indiana with his wife and cat named Sage, and when he's not composing music or writing books or cleaning up messes from his cat, he's playing drums for a band and playing video games, two of his favorite things to do. Jay is a member of ASCAP.

FAQ

IS JAY YOUR REAL NAME OR PEN NAME?

Don't worry about it. Jay is a short version of the name I was born with. Guess away!

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

25.

WHEN is your book coming out?

Tyler Johnson Was Here is out now! Be on the look out for my forthcoming Things We Couldn’t Say. Pre-order anywhere books are sold!

Is TYLER JOHNSON WAS HERE your first book?

Tyler Johnson Was Here is my debut novel. 

CAN YOU VISIT MY SCHOOL?

I would love to! Please contact my publicist on the “Press Kit” page on my website. Please note that I am only doing virtual school visits and events at the moment. Few exceptions will be made.

CAN YOU come to my event?

Perhaps so! I would honestly love it. See answers to the above question!

YOU'RE A COMPOSER, TOO? Do i KNOW ANY OF YOUR MUSIC?

Yes, I am part time composer and part time author. My music has been performed in Japan, Italy, and all across the United States, and I'm excited to say that I have a few publishing houses that publishes my band music. All of my music is eligible for TV/Film, but those inquiries need to be passed on to my music publishers: Carl Fischer and CL Barnhouse. 

HOW DID YOU BECOME AN AUTHOR?

Write, write, write. Get people to read it. Edit, edit, edit. Get an agent to read it. (I'll expand on this soon!) Good luck!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE YA BOOKS?

Dear Martin by Nic Stone, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver, More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson, Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson, Someday by David Levithan, Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, and Paper Towns by John Green.

PRESS KIT

 Here is a quick press kit with a bio, a picture, and information you can use for any purposes you would like:

For literary rights inquiries, please contact Lauren Abramo of Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret LLC at labramo@dystel.com

For film and television rights, please contact Lauren Abramo at labramo@dystel.com

For speaking engagements or school visits, please forward all inquiries to Jay’s publicist Alex Kelleher-Nagorski at AKelleher@scholastic.com