Features

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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Events

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

Jan 22, 2026

Jan 25, 2026

John C. Campbell Folk School: Where the Story Begins: Turning Inspiration Into Prose

Do you have an idea for a novel or memoir but aren’t sure how to get started? Turn inspiration into written pages using practical techniques for developing plot, scene, character, and dialogue. We will write together with guided prompts, enjoy read-alouds of our work, and discuss published examples. An overview of the publishing landscape and tips to keep you writing will close out our time together. Join me and Mickey Dubrow for a weekend of writing inspiration!

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