The Gayl Jones collection consists of manuscripts and other material.

Manuscripts by Jones in the collection include Corregidora (Random House, 1975); Eva's Man (Random House, 1976); Die Vogelfangerin (The Bird Catcher); Xarque and Other Poems (Lotus Press, 1985); "From The Quest from Wholeness: Re-Imagining the African-American Novel: An Essay on Third World Aesthetics," published in Callaloo (Summer 1994); Mosquito (Beacon Press, 1999); Palmares (unpublished); The Wife of Martim Anninho (unpublished); Martin Tage, a work in play and screenplay versions; African Expressionism, a play; Corrida de Gallo, a play; and various short stories and poems.

Several manuscripts in the collection are by or pertain to Lucille Jones. These include Luther, a play based on the novella of the same name by Lucille Jones; Stop Dat Moda / The German Girls / Eight Mile House (Warthum Publishing, distributed by Xlibris Corp., 2000); "The Storyteller's Art: A Literary Conversation," an interview between Gayl Jones and Lucille Jones published in Callaloo (2003); Nursery/Yesterday's Fables (Xlibris Corp., 2001); "The Book of Electra," a work in verse; "Twenty-One B. Street," a short story; proofs for various works; "Kidnapped / Held Incommunicado. The Murder of Lucille Jones," a booklet published by the Lucille Jones Foundation (June 1997); and "Minding the Word: The Writings of Lucille Jones," by Gayl Jones.

Other items in the collection include the manuscript for "Healing, Orality, and Gender in Gayl Jones' The Healing," a thesis paper by Anna Mantese; drafts in English and Spanish of the book From Swastikas to Palm Trees, by Alfredo F. Vorshim (Phantom Literary Publications, 1991); a printed item, My Religion: The Spiritual Texts and Holy Meanings, by Don Steele (Jones' husband); correspondence, dating ca. 1999; a Gayl Jones bibliography, by Joe Weixlmann; reviews of Mosquito and other works; and other items.