Clayton Jones is an American editorial cartoonist

Editorial cartoonist

An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary....

 based in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...

. He has been the staff editorial cartoonist for The Free Lance-Star since 1998. His work is syndicated to over 400 publications by Creators Syndicate Inc.

Biography

Jones was born in Fort Hood, Texas in 1966. His first cartooning job was for The Panolian in Batesville, Mississippi where he worked from 1989 to 1995. He left the Panolian to work for the Daily Leader in Brookhaven, Mississippi, which he left in September of the same year. Starting the early 90's until 1997, he self-syndicated five cartoons a week to over 40 newspapers in Mississippi on state subjects, also while contributing an exclusive cartoon to the Mississippi Business Journal once a week.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Honolulu Star-Bulletin

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii...

 hired Jones to fill in for a year while their regular cartoonist, Corky Trinidad

Corky Trinidad

Francisco Flores Trinidad, Jr. , better known by his pen name "Corky", was a Philippine American editorial cartoonist and comics artist. Born in Manila, he was known for his editorial cartoons for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin since 1969, and especially for his Vietnam War comic strip Nguyen...

, took a year-long sabbatical. After leaving Honolulu Jones was hired by The Free Lance-Star. In addition to drawing five cartoons a week for the paper, Jones also writes a daily column and draws a weekly caption contest.

Jones' work is nationally syndicated to over 400 newspapers by Creators Syndicate. His work has been reprinted in USA Today

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

, The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

, Newsweek

Newsweek

Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

 and Time Magazine. His work is archived at the Mattie Sink Memorial Library at Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

. In 1997, Pelican Publishing published a book of his work titled "Knee-Deep In Mississippi", a collection of cartoons mostly on cartoons of that state.

Jones won first place for Best Editorial Cartoon in the Mississippi Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest, For the first three years of the contests existence. He has also won awards in Hawaii and Virginia, most recently taking first and second place in 2011 in the Virginia Press Association's annual contest.