Join Jessica Handler at her upcoming events and appearances. Stay tuned for dates and locations, and don't miss the chance to connect with the author behind "The Magnetic Girl" and other acclaimed works.

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.

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."

A fifteen minute 1:1 conversation about your submitted manuscript pages, the publishing landscape, and the writers' life
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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From insightful interviews to engaging essays, see how Jessica's work continues to resonate with readers and critics alike.
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In this episode of Hear-tell, Pat Thomas—MFA Distinguished Professor of Practice at the University of Georgia—joins award-winning author Jessica Handler to talk about Pat’s essay for The Bitter Southerner, “The Answer Is Yes.” Their conversation moves through memory, hesitation, and what it takes to finally write the story you’ve been quietly avoiding. Together, they reflect on how grief shapes our work and how timing, courage, and curiosity can change what we’re able to say on the page. Here is a link to Pat’s essay: https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2024/the-answer-is-yes And here are links to Jessica Handler’s website with links to all her books: https://www.jessicahandler.com/

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.

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.

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?