Jacquelyn Mitchard is the author of the number one New York Times bestselling novel, The Deep End of the Ocean — 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, second only to the Harry Potter series. She has subsequently written seven other bestselling novels, 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), No Time to Wave Goodbye (2009) as well as an essay collection, The Rest of Us: Dispatches From the Mothership (1997). The film version of The Deep End of the Ocean, starring Michelle Pfeiffer was released in March 1999. Still Summer, from Grand Central Books, now is in development for a Lifetime original film and Cage of Stars for an independent film by EMO Pictures. Five of her novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
Mitchard has published three children’s books – two young children’s novels, Starring Prima! (2004) and Rosalie, My Rosalie(2005) as well as two children’s picture book, Baby Bat’s Lullaby (2004) and Ready, Set, School! (2007). Rosalie, My Rosalie was a Banks Street Library Notable Book.
Her first Young Adult novel Now You See Her, was published in February 2007 and she published two in 2008, All We Know Of Heaven and The Midnight Twins. Look Both Ways, the second book in The Midnight Twins series was published in April 2009 and Watch for Me by Moonlight, the third and final book in The Midnight Twins series came out in April 2010.
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.
Mitchard served as speechwriter for former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, and was until 1984 a metro reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A Ragdale Foundation Distinguished Fellow, she has also written two non-fiction books, Mother Less Child: The Love Story of a Family (W.W. Norton) and Jane Addams of Hull House (Gareth Stevens Press). Her essays on parenthood and social issues have been widely anthologized; and she has received the Maggie Award for Public Service Magazine Journalism, was short-listed for Britain’s Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and Britain’s Spread the Word Prize; and served on the 2002 jury for the National Book Award for fiction. 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. Her website is www.jackiemitchard.com.
Jacquelyn Mitchard lives in Wisconsin with her husband Christopher Brent, and their nine children.