Writer, Teacher, Human

Writing fiction and nonfiction is how Jessica Handler explores the questions that haunt her, fascinate her, and won’t let her go. Writing is her doorway into empathy, celebration, and wonder. She hopes it’s the same for you.

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Author Photo: Royce Soble

"Depth and emotion..."

Booklist

"Handler’s beautiful storytelling enlightens us…"

The Bitter Southerner

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.

I am compelled by a single theme in my fiction and nonfiction: women and girls bearing more responsibility than they believe they can carry, and the ways they — we — learn to thrive.

Jessica Handler

Events

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

Sep 21, 2024

Emory University IDEAS Festival

In conversation with Sari Botton, editor of Oldster Magazine.

Link Register here >

Oct 7, 2024

Oct 12, 2024

WRITING WORKSHOP: Writing History - Yours and Others'

How do writers present vibrant history on the page? How do they make the details of their characters’ worlds resonate with contemporary readers? How does 'then' connect to 'now'? Join me at the John C. Campbell Folk School this fall for generative writing exercises, discussion, and analysis of excerpted work, and examining the craft of bringing history to life. Workshop your writing, explore innovative approaches to research, and generate new material from focused prompts. Writers of historical fiction, memoir, and biography at any level are welcome.

Link Register here >

Award Winning!

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.

Learn more >

FeatureS

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

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Dec 2023

The Muscle For Escape

This is one of those stories you bring out near last call so you’ll never have to go home.

Short Reads

Mar 2023

Marshall Crenshaw's Someday Someway

Stop what you’re doing right now and cue this baby up. It will only take about three minutes of your time, the length of a standard radio pop hit. Because that’s what it is. A power-pop hit.

March Fadness

May 2022

Notice

“Notice,” my yoga teacher coos. I open one eye to notice that on the Zoom screen, he’s sitting upright. Sukhasana. I settle myself in the same posture on my yoga mat in my living room, legs crossed, spine straight.

Brevity Magazine

May 2022

Owning My Worth

When I was 8 years old, my father, who turned out to be terrible with money, worked on a colleague’s campaign for U.S. Senate. One day I walked into my parents’ bedroom to find my father sitting on the bed, surrounded by an ocean of cash.

Oldster

About the Author

Get to know Jessica Handler and explore the writing and teaching that defines her work.