Parneshia Jones (born 1980) is an American publisher, poet, and editor. She is the author of a 2015 poetry collection, Vessel, which won the Midwest Book Award. In 2020, Jones was appointed director of Northwestern University Press.

Hailing from Evanston, Illinois, Parneshia Jones grew up visiting her neighborhood library frequently. When she was in sixth grade, she wrote her first poem, about her brother. Through writing this first piece of poetry, she found her passion for writing and poetry.

Jones graduated from Chicago State University with a Creative Writing degree and went on to get her Master of Fine Arts degree from Spalding University.

She began her career in publishing as an intern at Third World Press, where she worked with Haki R. Madhubuti.

In 2003, aged 22, Jones became a marketing assistant for Northwestern University, where she continued to gain experience as she worked with many different writers. In 2019, she was made Editorial Director for Trade and Engagement. Through her work at Northwestern University, she was able to give People of Color more opportunities in the writing vocation.

In September 2020, Jones was appointed director of Northwestern University Press. She is the second black woman to be a leader at a university press in the United States.

Jones resides in Chicago, Illinois.

An Affrilachian poet, Jones cites her undergraduate experiences at Chicago State University, studying under important black writers and scholars Haki R. Madhubuti, Dr. Kelly Norman Ellis, Dr. B. J. Bolden, Dr. Donda West, and a one-on-one chance meeting with Gwendolyn Brooks, who reviewed and red-marked Jones’ early poems and encouraged her to continue writing, as a milestone in her writing and editing career.