Partial list of publications: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, Bellweather Rhapsody, This Must Be the Place
Genres: Fiction
Awards: Alex Award, Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA)/American Library, Must-Read Book, Massachusetts Center for the Book (This Must Be the Place)
Association (ALA) (Bellweather Rhapsody)
Current residence: United States
Education
Emerson College, Boston, MA
M.F.A. in Writing, December 2005
State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
B.F.A. in Illustration, Minor in English, summa cum laude, May 2002
Link
Publications
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) Novel. 2019
A screwball-gothic adventure featuring a Sherlock Holmes-like female protagonist and her associates as they’re drawn into a real-life treasure hunt designed by a deceased billionaire, that explores friendship and love, uncertainty and possibility, and the responsibilities we have to ourselves and others. October 2019 Indie Next List, LibraryReads, and Apple Books selection. Starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. A Kirkus Best Book of 2019.
Bellweather Rhapsody (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) Novel. 2014
A character-driven mystery set in a once grand hotel in the Catskills during a weekend retreat for student musicians, inspired by the works of Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and Ellen Raskin. Starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wisconsin State Journal, and Popmatters, and recommended by The New York Times Book Review’s “Dear Book Match.”
This Must Be the Place (Henry Holt & Company) Novel. 2010
A coming of age story about creation and loss, movies and mothers, inspired by the art of Joseph Cornell, the music of the Beatles, and the monsters of Ray Harryhausen. Starred reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal. Reviewed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, O, and People.
Teaching
Grub Street, Boston, MA. Fiction Instructor
Novel Revision Intensive. Six-week online course. Summer & Fall 2016; Spring, Summer, Fall 2017; Summer 2018; Spring & Summer 2019
Novel in Progress Online. Ten-week online course. Spring 2018, 2 sessions; Fall 2018
Six Weeks, Six Stories. Six-week online course. Winter 2015
Mapping Your Novel: People, Places and Plots. One-day workshop. Summer 2014
Novel in Progress III: Endings are Beginnings. Ten-week course. Winter 2014
Continuing Novel in Progress. Ten-week course. Fall 2013
Novel in Progress. Ten-week course. Spring 2013
Other Voices, Other Worlds: Writing Extraordinary Fiction. Ten-week course. Winter 2013
Moravian College, Department of English, Bethlehem, PA. Adjunct Instructor
ENGL 393: Young Adult Fiction Writing. Spring 2019
Lafayette College, Department of English, Easton, PA. Adjunct Instructor
ENG 202: Writing Seminar: The Language of Monstrosity. Fall 2015
Salem State University, Division of Graduate and Continuing Education, Salem, MA. Visiting Instructor
ENG 820: Fiction Writing. Six-week graduate course. Summer 2012
Writing and Teaching Interests
Character development. Revision technique. Visual art, music and the performing arts. Memory, nostalgia. Upstate New York. Popular culture, camp and kitsch. Genre and speculative fiction, including mystery, crime, horror, science fiction and fantasy.
Conference Workshops & Panels
“What Books Can Do: Writing for Young People in an Age of Chronic War and Extremism.”
Panel moderator. Moravian College Writers’ Conference, Bethlehem, PA. February 2019
“Writing the Novel: Following a Map that Changes.” Two-day workshop. Moravian College
Writers’ Conference, Bethlehem, PA. June 2015
“Who Are Our Readers?” Panel. Moravian College Writers’ Conference, Bethlehem, PA. June 2015
“Essentials of Character.” Workshop. The Muse and the Marketplace, Grub Street, Boston, MA. May 2015
“On Teaching Online,” How to Build and Sustain a Writing Center in the Digital Age. Panel.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Minneapolis, MN. April 2015
“Good Girls,” Women Writing Darkness: Villains, Violence, and Unhappy Endings. Panel.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Minneapolis, MN. April 2015
“Five Ways to Be (Part of a Writing Community),” Poetics of Generosity: The Fine Art of
Constructive Praise. Panel. Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Seattle, WA. March 2014
Selected Readings & Invited Talks
Literature Lovers’ Night Out, Minneapolis, MN. Book talk. November 16 & 17, 2019
Lafayette College, Easton, PA. Reading; served as judge for annual flash fiction student writing contest. November 13, 2019.
Boston Book Festival, Boston, MA. Panel: “The Butlah Did It: Mysteries with a Boston Accent.” October 19, 2019
Lafayette College, Easton, PA. Reading and workshop: “Sherlock Holmes to Veronica Mars: A Crash Course in Mystery Writing.” March 24, 2015
Boston Book Festival, Boston, MA. Panel: “Words and Music: A Literary Jam Session.” October 25, 2014
Craft on Draft, Boston, MA. Reading and discussion: “Creating Kickass Characters.” October 7, 2014
St. John Fisher College Cavanaugh Reading Series, Rochester, NY. Reading and book talk. 2013
Lounge Lit: Readings With a Twist, Boston, MA. Reading and performance. 2012
Salem State University Writers Series, Salem, MA. Reading. 2011
Canastota Public Library, Canastota, NY. Reading and book talk. 2011
Professional Experience
Freelance Writer, Bethlehem, PA
Writer, Fig Bethlehem. January 2018-present
Bethlehem Area Public Library, Bethlehem, PA
Development and Marketing Specialist. January 2018-present
Interlibrary Loan Technician. January-August 2015
Grub Street, Boston, MA
Freelance Manuscript Consultant. 2013-present
Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
Writing Community Retreat Leader. June 2019
Served on advisory board, application review committee, and as mentor and instructor for inaugural weeklong
retreat for 8 writers. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Moravian College Writers’ Conference, Bethlehem, PA
Conference Organizer. February 2019
Organized and facilitated a one-day conference featuring a generative writing workshop and public reading
by featured presenter A.S. King, and a panel discussion on writing for young adults in an age of extremism
Massachusetts General Hospital Development Office, Boston, MA
Freelance Prospect Researcher. August 2014–May 2018
Development Officer, Prospect Research. August 2010–April 2014
Researched, wrote, and presented reports on current and prospective major gift donors to the hospital in
support of a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign goal
Columbia Management (formerly RiverSource Investments), Cambridge, MA
Institutional Marketing Writer, Marketing Coordinator and Manager. October 2007–July 2010
Lead writer and reviewer for proposals marketing high-demand fixed income investment strategies to
sophisticated institutional investors, including public/government entities, corporations, and consultants, both
domestically and internationally
Putnam Investments, Boston, MA
Institutional Marketing Information Analyst. October 2005–September 2007
Wrote, edited, formatted, and proofread responses to requests for proposals supporting a variety of asset
classes, investment strategies, and distribution channels
Awards and Fellowships
2015 Alex Award, Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA)/American Library Association (ALA) (Bellweather Rhapsody)
2010 Must-Read Book, Massachusetts Center for the Book (This Must Be the Place)
2003-05 Merit-Based Graduate Assistantship, Emerson College
2002 Alan E. Cober Scholarship, SUNY Buffalo Art Department
2002 Phi Beta Kappa
1998-02 Distinguished Honors Scholarship, SUNY Buffalo
Memberships and Community Service
Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium Writing Community, Advisory Board
Bach Choir of Bethlehem, board member and chorister
Grub Street, member and instructor
Moravian College Writers’ Conference, Advisory Board
Association of Writers and Writing Programs, former member
Boston Book Festival, volunteer event producer