Overcoming adversity creatively is what Jacquelyn Mitchard is all about, and she does it with aplomb. Her #1 New York Times bestselling novel, "The Deep End of the Ocean" was chosen as the first book for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club and named by USA Today in 2007 as one of the most influential books of the past 25 years. Now, the long awaited sequel, "No Time to Wave Goodbye" is out and Mitchard, who is an MFA in creative writing faculty member, will read from it, chat with the audience and sign books on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. when Fairfield University's Inspired Writer Series presents an "Evening with Jacquelyn Mitchard" in the Oak Room at the Barone Campus Center. This event is an Arts & Minds presentation. Admission is $10. To make reservations, contact Laura Keller at lkeller@fairfield.edu or by phone, (203) 254-4110.

Fairfield University's MFA in creative writing program has attracted a formidable group of highly acclaimed authors as faculty in the three years it has been in existence. Program Director Michael White welcomed the program's latest addition: "I am delighted to have Jackie Mitchard, one of the country's most important and beloved novelists, join our MFA program as a faculty member. And we are delighted that she can take time to be here on campus for this very special reading of her latest work. Her novels are that rarest of rare delights, literary works that are also passionate and riveting."

Mitchard's literary largess touches adults, young adults and children. She has seven other bestselling adult novels to her credit, including "The Most Wanted" (1998), "A Theory of Relativity" (2001), "Twelve Times Blessed" (2003), "Christmas, Present" (2004), "The Breakdown Lane" (2004), "Cage of Stars" (2005), "Still Summer" (2007), as well as an essay collection, "The Rest of Us: Dispatches From the Mothership" (1997). She has written five novels that speak to teens and children have four novels to entice them.

A former syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services, Mitchard now is a contributing editor for Parade magazine, and a frequent contributor to magazines such as Reader's Digest , Hallmark, More and Real Simple . Her screenplays include "A Serpent's Egg," with Amy Paulsen, and "Doing Fine," with John Roach. A Ragdale Foundation Distinguished Fellow, she has also written two non-fiction books, "Mother Less Child: The Love Story of a Family" and "Jane Addams of Hull House." Recipient of the Maggie Award for Public Service Magazine Journalism, she is the founding organizer of One Writer's Place, a small residence for writers and artists healing through creativity after difficult life circumstances, which accepted its first residents in 2008. Mitchard lives in Wisconsin with her husband Christopher Brent, and their nine children.

Posted On: 02-15-2011 10:02 AM

Volume: 43 Number: 202