Jessica Handler is the acclaimed author of award-winning novels and celebrated nonfiction, with features on NPR, in Tin House, Electric Literature, The Bitter Southerner, The Washington Post, and elsewhere.
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.
Jessica’s first book, the memoir Invisible Sisters, tells the story of her coming of age as the surviving “well sibling” of three sisters. Her second book, Braving The Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss, is an innovative craft guide to writing well about heartbreak.
Her debut novel, The Magnetic Girl, imagines the history of the real-life nineteenth-century vaudeville sensation Lulu Hurst, and was honored with the 2020 Southern Book Prize.
Jessica earned her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina, and her B.S. from Emerson College in Boston. In a former career universe, she worked behind the scenes on television shows that you probably watched in the ‘80s and ‘90s. (Here’s a hint: can you name that tune?)
Honors and awards include multiple “Best American Essays” shortlists, a Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Nonfiction Fellowship, and writing residencies at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia, the Newnan, Georgia “ArtsRez,” and elsewhere. As a teacher, she has served as the Ferrol Sams, Jr. Distinguished Writer in Residence at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and is currently a visiting faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA, a member of the faculty at the Etowah Valley MFA at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia, and an in-demand workshop leader at writers’ conferences worldwide.
She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, novelist Mickey Dubrow, sometimes multiple cats, and a drum kit and guitar that she should play more often.
Events
Join Jessica Handler for writing workshops, book signings, and engaging conversations with award-winning authors!
Mar 9, 2025
to
Mar 14, 2025
Writing Family Stories
Join me for a week at Serenbe's Art Farm to learn techniques for writing about family: developing plot as well as for writing scene, description, and character. Together, we’ll explore innovative ways of bringing family dynamics to life on the page, including research, sensory engagement, and drawing (even if you’re not an artist.) We will read and discuss excerpts from well-known examples of family stories, and maybe share a little bit of our own writing, too.
