Jennifer McMahon (born 1968 in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

) is an American novelist who formerly resided in Barre, Vermont and now lives in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat of Washington County, Vermont, Washington County. The site of Government of Vermont, Vermont's state government, it is the Lis ...

. She has a

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

with her partner Drea, and one child, daughter Zella. She is a graduate of

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

, and studied poetry at

Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' Promise Not to Tell'', was published by Harper Paperbacks (an 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 April 2007. ''Promise Not to Tell'' was described by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' as "Part mystery-thriller and part ghost story". It was released in Germany by

Rowohlt Verlag Rowohlt Verlag is a German publishing house based in Hamburg, with offices in Reinbek and Berlin. It has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group since 1982. The company has been dissolved and restarted twice since its creation in 1908. Hi ...

, under the title ''Das Mädchen im Wald'' (The Girl in the Woods), in October 2007.

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

published '' Promise Not to Tell'' in the United Kingdom in 2008. A French edition and Italian edition have also been released. Her follow-up suspense novel, ''Island of Lost Girls'' was published by Harper Paperbacks in April 2008. It was a

New York Times Bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

. It was released in Germany by

, under the title ''Die Insel der verlorenen Kinder'' (The Island of Lost Children); and in the Netherlands by De Boekerij under the title ''Het eiland van de verdwenen meisjes'' (The Island of Missing Girls). Sphere, an imprint of

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

, published it in the United Kingdom in September 2009. Her next book from

, ''Dismantled'', was published in hardcover in June 2009. It was nominated for a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

. ''Dismantled'' has also been released in the UK (under the title ''Girl in the Woods''), Germany, and the Netherlands. In May 2011, McMahon's suspense novel, ''Don't Breathe a Word'', was published, again by HarperCollins. McMahon also has a book of

lesbian teen fiction Lesbian literature is a subgenre of literature addressing lesbian themes. It includes poetry, plays, fiction addressing lesbian characters, and non-fiction about lesbian-interest topics. A similar term is Sapphic love, sapphic literature, encom ...

, entitled ''My Tiki Girl'', which was released by Dutton Children's (an imprint of

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...

) in May 2008. It was included in the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's 2009 Rainbow List.

Novels

* '' Promise Not to Tell'' (2007) * ''Island of Lost Girls'' (2008) * ''My Tiki Girl'' (2008) * ''Dismantled'' (2009) * ''Don't Breathe a Word'' (2011) * ''The One I Left Behind'' (2013) * ''The Winter People'' (2014) * ''The Night Sister'' (2015) * ''Burntown'' (2017) * ''The Invited'' (2019) * ''The Drowning Kind'' (2021) * ''The Children on the Hill'' (2022) * ''My Darling Girl'' (2023)

Other works

* ''Hannah-Beast'' (Dark Corners collection) Kindle Edition (2018) * ''The Deer Wife'' appears in the anthology ''Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery'' (2019) * ''Idiot Girls'' appears in the anthology ''Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology'' (2022)

References

External links

Jennifer McMahon's official web siteHarperCollins' author page about Jennifer McMahon
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Jennifer 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American lesbian writers Living people 1968 births American LGBTQ novelists 21st-century American women writers Writers from Hartford, Connecticut Novelists from Connecticut People from Barre, Vermont People from Montpelier, Vermont Novelists from Vermont Goddard College alumni Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni