[5] One of his sons, Avi Duckor-Jones, was the winner of the first season of reality television show Survivor NZ in 2017.

[6][7] After leaving university and spending time travelling overseas, Jones became a sports reporter at The Evening Post, and began writing fiction.

[8] In May 2003, a theatrical adaptation of Jones' novel The Book of Fame was presented at Wellington's Downstage Theatre.

In May 2007, Jones won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Overall Best Book Award for his novel Mister Pip.

[14] In 2015 Jones spent a year in Australia as a resident writer at the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide.