Writer, Teacher, Human

Writing fiction and nonfiction is how Jessica Handler explores the questions that haunt her, fascinate her, and won’t let her go. Writing is her doorway into empathy, celebration, and wonder. She hopes it’s the same for you.

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Author Photo: Royce Soble

"Depth and emotion..."

Booklist

"Handler’s beautiful storytelling enlightens us…"

The Bitter Southerner

Books by Jessica Handler

Explore Jessica Handler's thought-provoking themes and powerful narratives.

The World To See

When teenager Nadine Harvey helps her best friend hide a disturbing secret, she’s also concealing her own deepest truth: she’ll do almost anything to be wanted.

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The Magnetic Girl

Set in a time of emerging electricity and heightened Spiritualism, "The Magnetic Girl" is an inspired novel about women's quest for political, cultural, and sexual presence.

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Braving The Fire

"Braving the Fire" is the first book to provide a road map for the journey of writing honestly about grief and loss.

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Invisible Sisters

One daughter’s moving account of illness, death, and the dissolution of her family.

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I am compelled by a single theme in my fiction and nonfiction: women and girls bearing more responsibility than they believe they can carry, and the ways they — we — learn to thrive.

Jessica Handler

Events

Join Jessica Handler for writing workshops, book signings, and engaging conversations with award-winning authors!

Mar 14, 2026

Cartersville Area Writers' Conference

Revision As Inspiration Workshop. Revising your writing can be a joyful, inspirational experience. After all, the word “revision” means to “see again.” In this two-hour generative workshop, award-winning authors Mickey Dubrow and Jessica Handler will guide you through a variety of techniques for “revisioning” your prose, poetry, and lyrics.

Link Register here >

Apr 10, 2026

In Conversation with Tommy Hays, welcoming his new novel, "The Marriage Bed."

Join me and A Cappella Books for a conversation at Manuel's Tavern with acclaimed author Tommy Hays, founder and former Executive Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program, about his newest novel, "The Marriage Bed."

Link Register here >

Pre-Order Now!

The World To See

When teenager Nadine Harvey helps her best friend hide a disturbing secret, she’s also concealing her own deepest truth: she’ll do almost anything to be wanted.

Learn more >

FeatureS

From insightful interviews to engaging essays, see how Jessica's work continues to resonate with readers and critics alike.

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Jul 2025

This Year, June 23, 2025: a living time capsule or a conversational archive or a collection of days

Phone alarm 7:30 a.m., Glenn Gould storming his way through The Goldberg Variations. The music puts me in mind of my mother, who loved Bach.

Big Table Press

Jan 2025

Making Noise: On Learning to Play Drums The Year I Turned Sixty

Articulate. My husband has a twelve-inch-tall action figure of me — I’m serious — about the size of a Barbie doll. She is “fully articulated,” which in action-figure speak means that her arms and legs and head can swivel. When he had this made, he had one made of himself, too. It was a passing fad, a kind of a joke between us.

Another Chicago Magazine

Nov 2024

The Little Things

Stop what you’re doing, and pay attention to your senses. How your fingers feel on the keyboard, or your feet on the floor. What about sound? Is your playlist going (and what’s on it?) or is that a trash truck grinding away on the street?

Brevity

Sep 2024

Excerpt from The World To See

Excerpt from "The World to See" forthcoming from Regal House

About the Author

Get to know Jessica Handler and explore the writing and teaching that defines her work.