Events


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.

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3/14/26
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3/14/2026

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.

4/10/26
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4/10/2026

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."

5/1/26
to
5/1/2026

Manuscript coaching at the Atlanta Writers' Club Conference

A fifteen minute 1:1 conversation about your submitted manuscript pages, the publishing landscape, and the writers' life

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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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FeatureS

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

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Jan 2026

Hear/Tell Podcast from the UGA Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Nonfiction

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/

Hear/Tell with Jessica Handler & Pat Thomas
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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
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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
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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
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