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Jessica Handler’s Profile and Interview

Jessica Handler

Jessica Handler (she/her) is the author of the forthcoming novel The World To See (Regal House, 2026), the novel The Magnetic Girl, winner of the 2020 Southern Book Prize and a nominee for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, a 2019 “Books All Georgians Should Read,” an Indie Next pick, Wall Street Journal Spring 2019 pick, Bitter Southerner Summer 2019 pick, and a Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association “Okra Pick.” Her memoir Invisible Sisters was also named one of the “Books All Georgians Should Read,” and her craft guide Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss was praised by Vanity Fair magazine. Her writing has appeared on multiple “Best American Essays” shortlists, and been featured on NPR, in Tin HouseDrunken Boat, Full Grown People, Oldster, The Bitter Southerner, Electric Literature, BrevityCreative NonfictionNewsweek, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Honors include the Ferrol Sams, Jr. Distinguished Writer in Residence at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and the Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Fellowship in Gambier, Ohio. She is a visiting faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA, a member of the faculty at the Etowah Valley MFA at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia, and a mentor in the AWP Writer to Writer program. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, novelist Mickey Dubrow. 

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Apply to join Jessica’s small group of writers that he will lead through our unique 12 week mentoring and workshopping program.

We're selective about who joins Jessica's group

A core principle of PocketMFA is that writers are trusted and respected to remain in control of their experience. We give top priority for deciding groups based on a writer’s preference of mentor. Read on below to see Jessica’s answers to our mentor interview questions, or jump into the application process to make sure you don’t miss your chance to work with her.

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Jessica’s Mentor Interview

 

What excites you most about writing? How has it affected your life?

Writing excites me because it’s an act of discovery about myself and about the world around me. I write in order to explore what I know and what I want to know more about. I love words, language, and rhythm, and there’s joy for me when everything works on the page. When it doesn’t, there’s joy in returning to the page and figuring out what I want to say and how I want to say it. If I don’t write for a while (my journal counts) I don’t feel quite like myself.

 

What mindset does a writer need to continue to grow and learn?

A writer should read in and out of their genre/s, and read widely. Paraphrasing Henry James, a writer is someone on whom “nothing is lost,” which to me means simply, “notice.” Notice what’s going on around you and inside of you; be aware of what you hear and see and experience and what you think about. Don’t be afraid to write multiple drafts or start in the middle or try a form that’s new to you. That’s growth and learning!

 

What three words describe you as a mentor?

Fun, encouraging, knowledgeable.

 

What makes a good writing mentor?

A good mentor welcomes a writer’s worldview, experience, and identity, and helps guide that writer toward achievable and rewarding goals.

 

What is your style of feedback?

A mentee recently described me as an “active listener,” and that’s very much what I try to do; actively listen in conversation about craft, and actively read and engage with a manuscript. I generally read a submission twice; the first time for flow and comprehension, and the second with a pencil (or keyboard) at the ready in order to make notes for the author about what’s working for me as a reader as well as what I question. My feedback addresses progress as well as any concerns the writer has brought to the discussion. A short summary statement concludes my notes, which gives the writer a place from which to begin our conversation when we meet.

 

What was the most recent “standout” book you read and what drew you to it?

Percival Everett’s James, which reclaims and reshapes the story we traditionally think of as about Huckleberry Finn. Everett’s deft insight into America – and how we read history – is brilliant.