The New Debs: Please Welcome the Class of 2017!

Please return next Saturday for the Deb class of 2017’s first guest, Lee Kelly, author of A CRIMINAL MAGIC.

We’re excited to announce the new blog schedule as of Monday, September 5th. We know the 2017 class will continue the Deb traditions in fine form, and we look forward to following their journeys over the next year!

So please join the fabulous 2017 Deb Class next week as they introduce themselves and their upcoming debut novels. Raise a glass and welcome….

Mondays: Crystal King

Crystal King is a writer, culinary enthusiast and social media expert. Her debut novel, FEAST OF SORROW, is about the life of the famous ancient gourmand, Apicius, a Roman who lived during the time of Augustus and Tiberius, and whose name graces the oldest known cookbook. Crystal’s writing is fueled by a love of history and an obsession with the food, language, and culture of Italy. She has taught writing, creativity and social media at Grub Street and several universities including Harvard Extension School and Boston University. Crystal received her masters in critical and creative thinking from UMass Boston. She lives with her husband and their two cats in the Boston area.

Tuesdays: Amy Poeppel

Amy Poeppel grew up in Dallas, Texas, and left the south to attend Wellesley College. Since then, she has worked as an actor, a high school English teacher, and most recently as the Assistant Director of Admissions at a school in New York City. Her three fabulous boys are all off in Boston attending school, and she and her husband now split their time between New York and Frankfurt, Germany. A theatrical version of SMALL ADMISSIONS was workshopped at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit. She later expanded it into her first novel.

Wednesdays: Lynn Hall

Lynn Hall is a memoirist, activist in the movement to end sexual violence, ultra-runner, and crazy cat lady. Her memoir, CAGED EYES: AN AIR FORCE CADET’S STORY OF RAPE AND RESILIENCE, is forthcoming from Beacon Press in February 2017. Her writing has previously appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, The Sexual Assault Report, The Manifest-Station, the LA Times, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, and elsewhere. In the summers, Lynn copes with pre-publication anxiety by spending too many days in the Colorado mountains, and in the winters, with pans of brownies. She lives in Boulder with her partner and their 23 cats. Just kidding…she only has 6.

Thursdays: Jenni L. Walsh

Jenni L. Walsh spent her early years chasing around cats, dogs, and chickens in Philadelphia’s countryside, before dividing time between a soccer field and a classroom at Villanova University. She put her marketing degree to good use as an advertising copywriter, zip-code hopping with her husband to DC, NYC, NJ, and not surprisingly, back to Philly. There, Jenni’s passion for words continued, adding author to her resume. She now balances her laptop with a kid on each hip, and a four-legged child at her feet.

BECOMING BONNIE (Tor/Macmillan) is her debut novel that tells the untold story of how church-going Bonnelyn Parker becomes half of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo during the 1920s. Please learn more about Jenni’s books at jennilwalsh.com.

Fridays: Tiffany Jackson

Tiffany Jackson is a TV professional by day, novelist by night, awkward black girl 24/7. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film from Howard University and her Master of Arts in Media Studies from The New School University. A Brooklyn native, she is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves with her adorable chihuahua Oscar, most likely multitasking. Her debut contemporary YA novel ALLEGEDLY (Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Collins) hit shelves January 24th, 2017.

Please give these authors a warm welcome! And check back tomorrow for our final News Flash updates, where we officially retire our Debutante Ball 2016 pens…

Jennifer, Louise, Heather, Abby, and Aya

xo