Jessica Handler

Books by Jessica Handler

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

Invisible Sisters

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

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.

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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About Jessica

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.

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Events

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

Dec 4, 2024

The Little Things: Exploring Sensory Detail to Bring Your Characters to Life

The world around us is filled with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch—a richness that is vital for your characters, whether real or imagined. Specific details from our experience, like the sound of a loved one’s laugh or the logo on a faded band t-shirt, can bring your characters to life. In this prompt-driven online webinar, we will explore how writing about sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell is key to creating compelling characters. We’ll look at examples from published work and try some of our own. Afterward, you’ll have techniques that you can immediately apply to your own work.

Link Register here >

Mar 9, 2025

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.