Features

From insightful interviews to engaging essays, Jessica's work resonates with readers and critics alike.

April 2019

7 Honest Books About Hoaxes

I’ve long wondered what makes a person believe something improbable — either really believe, or convince themselves to err on the side of a questionable opinion, even if on some level they suspect they’re being taken for a ride.

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Electric Literature

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January 2018

Siberia, Atlanta

When I tell you that my mother’s father was born in a Siberian prison, I’ll remind you that was because his parents were perhaps exiled as retribution for political acts. Or simply because they were Jews. He, however, was a baby.

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Brevity Mag

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August 2017

On the Aftermath of a Home Made Bomb

When I was in my twenties, the house I shared with roommates in Arlington, Massachusetts was vandalized with a Molotov cocktail. This was the mid-1980s.

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The Manifestation

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March 2017

Seance City, Florida

Most of my family is dead. I see them all the time, although it’s more accurate to say I feel them. Sometimes I think if I could turn my head quickly enough I’d catch them just behind my shoulders, but I never do.

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Bitter Southerner

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August 2016

Night Time Is A Place

It’s August. The heat weighs down on the South into the wee hours, and bored suburban teenagers sneak quietly out their bedroom windows to find each other, to find community in a world that isn’t their parents’.

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Bitter Southerner

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November 2015

You in the Beige

In some circles, Southern is still an unsettling quirk, an excuse for caricature—like the mute and heroic Boo Radley or wanton Daisy Mae Scragg, heartthrob of Dogpatch.

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Atlanta Magazine

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January 2015

Write What You Don’t Know

As nonfiction writers, we’re proud of our fealty to the truth. We don’t make things up. Or, if we do make things up, we employ the deftness and elegance of signal phrases.

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Creative NonFiction

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December 2013

Screenplay, “Outside the Wire”

In this short film made for the 48 Hour Film Festival, we explore the sense of reality and memory, in a nod to a famous scene from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

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SuperLux

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Pre-Order Now!

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.

Events

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

Jul 28, 2026

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Jul 28, 2026

Newtonville Books with Lisa Borders & Christopher Castellani

Please join us on Tuesday, July 28th, at 7 pm, when Jessica Handler and Christopher Castellani discuss their latest novels in a conversation moderated by Lisa Borders. From Jessica Handler comes The World to See, a story of high stakes friendships, secrets, and the pressure to meet expectations set during the tempestuous era of Second Wave feminism. Last Seen, from Christopher Castellani, is a bold, singular, and ingeniously crafted contemplation on young men whose lives have ended, but who still seek connection, understanding, and resolution from beyond their watery graves. Lisa Borders' Last Night at the Disco is a darkly funny trip back to the 1970s seen through the eyes of junior high school teacher Lynda Boyle who spends her weekends at Studio 54. Four decades later, Lynda hopes to secure what she believes is her rightful place in rock and roll history.

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