Ivy Claire Pochoda (born January 22, 1977) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and former professional

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

player. Pochoda grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Personal life

Pochoda grew up in

, where she attended Saint Ann's School. She currently lives in

Harvard Heights Harvard Heights is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It lies within a municipally designated Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, historic preservation overlay zone designed to protect its architecturally significant s ...

, a neighborhood in the West Adams district in

Education

Pochoda holds a BA from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

(1998) in Classical Greek and English and American Literature. She also received an MFA in 2011 from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

in Fiction. She was the 2009 James Merrill House Writer in Residence.

Writing

Her first novel, ''The Art of Disappearing'', was published in 2009 by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

. Her second novel, ''Visitation Street'' was published by

Ecco Ecco or ECCO may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Ecco the Dolphin'' (series), a series of action-adventure science fiction video games ** ''Ecco the Dolphin'', a 1992 video game * Ecco (''Gotham''), a TV series character Organizations ...

, a publishing imprint of

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, in July 2013. ''Visitation Street'' is only the second title chosen by

Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author and screenwriter. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including '' A Drink Before the War''. Four of hi ...

for his eponymous imprint.

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

, an imprint of

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

, will publish ''Visitation Street'' in the United Kingdom. ''Wonder Valley'' was published by

in 2017. In 2023, ''Sing Her Down'' was published by MCD Books, an imprint of

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

Squash

Pochoda played

professionally between 1998 and 2007, representing the United States during her career. She reached a career-high world ranking of 38th in March 1999, having joined

Women's International Squash Players Association The Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) was the governing body for the women's professional squash circuit between 1983 and 2011. The WISPA World Tour involved over 80 tournaments annually worldwide. Over 200 players were re ...

full-time in 1998. In her college career at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, Pochoda was individual national champion in 1998, and led Harvard to national championships in all four of her years on the team. She was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and was a four-time All-American and First Team all-Ivy. In May 2013, she was inducted into the Harvard Hall of Fame.

Works

Books

* ''The Art of Disappearing'' (2009) * ''Visitation Street'' (2013) * ''Wonder Valley'' (2017) * ''Epoca ~ The Tree of Ecrof'' (2019) * ''These Women'' (2020) * ''Sing Her Down'' (2023)

Articles

* * *

References

External links

1993 births * *
2009 interview with Pochoda in ''Vanity Fair''

2013 interview with Pochoda in ''LA Weekly''

2023 interview with Pochoda on House of SpeakEasy’s YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pochoda, Ivy 1977 births Living people Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from New York City Harvard Crimson women's squash players American female squash players 21st-century American novelists American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Harvard College alumni Bennington College alumni Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) alumni