Jacquelyn

Mitchard

New York Times Bestselling Author

Award Winning Novelist

Travels from: Cape Cod, MA

“To write about those oldest of subjects—families, their secrets, their betrayals—and make them not only new but revelatory, it takes an absolute master of storytelling. How lucky for all of us that we have Jacquelyn Mitchard on the job! She writes, as always, with empathy, humor, and grace. This book is a scandalous delight.” — Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Believers, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

Jacquelyn Mitchard is the New York Times bestselling author of 23 novels for adults and teenagers, and the recipient of Great Britain’s Talkabout prize, The Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards, and named to the short list for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, with more than 3 million copies in print in 34 languages. It was later adapted into a major feature film starring Michelle Pfeiffer. Her novel Still Summer has also been adapted for a film still in production and her teen trilogy The Midnight Twins, is in development for a limited series by Kaleidoscope Entertainment. Her essay collection, The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship, was drawn from her newspaper column syndicated by Tribune Media. Mitchard’s essays also have been published in magazines worldwide, widely anthologized, and incorporated into school curricula. She served on the Fiction jury for the 2003 National Book Awards and was editor-in-chief of Merit Press, a Young Adult imprint under the aegis of Simon and Schuster.

A Chicago native, Mitchard grew up the daughter of a plumber and a hardware store clerk who met as rodeo riders. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Ragdale Foundation and a DeWitt Clinton Readers Digest Fellow at the MacDowell Colony. She has taught in MFA program for Creative Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Miami University of Ohio and Western New England University and was a speechwriter for former U.S. Rep. and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala. An avid Italian cook, she lives on Cape Cod with her husband and their nine children. Her newest novel, A Very Inconvenient Scandal, the story of Frankie Attleboro, an acclaimed young underwater photographer reeling from her mother’s shocking death, whose famous marine biologist father shatters the family by marrying Frankie’s best friend, is out from Mira/HarperCollins.

Jacquelyn's Featured Titles

How Reading and Writing Fiction Heals the World

When we read (or write) we learn about the world from the perspective of another. To fully participate in the experience is to practice comprehension, language acquisition knowledge-building, and especially, empathy. Misunderstanding cannot survive up close, and as we grow in understanding of other people, we also grow in compassion so that, potentially, the echoes reverberate in all areas of our lives and our interactions with other people. Examples of how certain books, in schools and society in general, have become a sort of cultural bond, and how the One Book program grew from this understanding.

An Unlikely Story

People often want to know how writers got their big break and I almost missed mine by a series of small accidents – such as erasing all three messages from Oprah Winfrey because I thought they were pranks and upsetting the entire staff of the Today show when I told them that I would be wearing a dark green silk suit for the show and, because I was from Wisconsin, they assumed I meant a track suit. Lighthearted discussion of near misses.

Overcoming

When I began writing fiction, back before everyone took writing classes and journaling was as customary as power walking, I was a widow in my late 30s with three small children who’d never taken a writing course beyond the freshman elective at the University of Illinois. My children, my siblings, and even my kid’s school principal told me I was chasing a dream no one ever achieved, giving some of the best years of my life and my children’s lives to this pursuit. I had to buck the opinions of those who had my welfare at heart to complete my first novel, working late at night after my job was finished and my children were asleep. Perseverance, believing in your potential rather than your ego, in any setting.

Recovery

My path has been rags to riches to rags to better rags! When I went through the experience of financial devastation after my husband trusted a scammer with everything we had, I was filled with bitterness and rage, toward him, toward fate … I had to overcome those destructive emotions to be able to write again and some (many) people thought that I should leave this marriage and take a new path, getting a sensible job rather than trying to rebuild a writing career. Indeed, I’m still rebuilding, but the lessons of love, compassion and yes – a certain shock at learning who my friends really were – have been instructive in building my life’s barometer.

From Real Life

Where does a writer get ideas? A discussion about stories, including some of my own, the inspiration for which came from real-life events and people, although they would never recognize themselves in the eventual narrative. I would discuss the perils and rewards of drawing inspiration from real life events, how others have done it wisely.

A Community of Readers

Oprah Winfrey arguably started the “book club movement” in American society, more than 25 years ago and in doing so, acknowledged the importance of stories as a mainstay of culture, and the importance of “gossiping about books” as a linchpin of our emotional connection and health. Examples of how a community of readers sustained people in the darkest and brightest parts of their lives and how a reading-discussion “habit” can be as essential to our well-being as an exercise routine.

Instinct

Every bad thing that has ever happened to me in my life can be traced directly to second-guessing my own instincts. Each of us has a potent weapon for self-protection, literal and emotional, in acknowledging the voice within that tells us what to trust and whom to trust. Discussion of learning about personal security through an examination of instinct and its irreplaceable role in our lives, and how I learned about it through a great friend of mine who is the world’s most acknowledged expert on security.

Your Favorite Book

I’ve asked many other authors and readers what their favorite book is and have had some surprises. There are reasons beyond the circumstances and the story and the writing that go into our consideration of the most important book in each of our lives. A discussion of those factors, as well as the favorite books of some of the most important authors of our time, such as Jodi Picoult, Karen Dionne, Scott Turow, and others. Includes what my own lifelong favorite book is, and why.

How to Make Your Book Club Better

It’s more than just the quality of the spinach puffs. A guide to enhancing your book club’s experience through easy but powerful activities, to really discussing a book, including interactive experiences such as each book club member assigned to identify with a particular character in a story and fully examine that character’s motivations from within, a “clue hunt” for objects or words that explain the importance of a book’s themes and significance.

“To hear Jacquelyn Mitchard speak is a life-changing experience. She is generous, funny, and informative, and you will never forget her.” — Alice Hoffman, author

“There is never a dull moment when Jackie Mitchard is at the front of the room. You will laugh and cry and learn.” — Ann Marvin, author and founder of Tall Poppies Writers

“Inviting Jacquelyn Mitchard to speak is a gift to your organization.” — Karen Dionne, author

“Jacquelyn Mitchard held the audience in the palm of her hand.” — Mary Booker, former regional chair, National MS Society

“Everyone in attendance said Jackie was the best speaker the group ever invited.” — Chris Bohjalian, author

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Honors, Awards & Recognition

Women’s Prize for Fiction (short list)
The Bram Stoker Award
UK Talkabout Prize
The Shirley Jackson Award
The American Library Certificate of Distinction
The Heartland Prize for Fiction