Jessica Anthony
{{short description|American author|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Jessica Anthony
|birth_name =
|image = Jessica Anthony.jpg
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|occupation = Author
|education = Hamilton Central School
Bates College
University of Manchester (BA)
George Mason University (MFA)
|nationality = American
|genre = Satire
|notableworks = Enter the Aardvark
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| website = {{URL|http://thejessicaanthony.com/}}
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Jessica Anthony is an American novelist, and author of The Convalescent (2009), Chopsticks (2012), Enter the Aardvark (2020) and The Most (2024). In addition to writing, Anthony has held a series of diverse occupations across the globe ranging from butcher in Sitka, Alaska, unlicensed masseuse in Rytro, Poland, and secretary in San Francisco, California. In 2017, Anthony worked on The Most while stationed as a "Bridge Guard" during an art residency program, guarding the Mária Valéria Bridge between Štúrovo, Slovakia and Esztergom, Hungary. She resides in Maine and teaches at Bates College.{{cite web |title=Jessica L. Anthony |url=https://www.bates.edu/faculty-expertise/profile/jessica-l-anthony/ |website=Bates.edu |language=en |date=31 August 2015}}
Early life and education
Anthony was born in Oneida, New York. She attended Hamilton Central School, where her mother taught Latin. She attended Bates College{{Cite web|url=https://www.bates.edu/english/anthony-jessica/|title=Jessica Anthony|website=Bates College}} and studied abroad at the University of Manchester (UK), earning a BA in English literature. While at Manchester, she studied literature with Professor Michael Schmidt. In 2004, she received an MFA in fiction from George Mason University, where she studied with novelists Susan Shreve, Alan Cheuse, Richard Bausch, and Stephen Goodwin.
Anthony had several jobs before becoming a novelist. She worked at Sea Mart in Sitka, Alaska, where she was a butcher and rented videos. She taught English in the remote villages Rytro and Rygrot, Poland, and to Czech businessmen in Prague. She worked as a custodian, cleaning college dorms in upstate New York, and was a secretary in San Francisco and New York City.
Career
Anthony’s debut novel, The Convalescent, tells the story of Rovar Pliegman, a Hungarian-American who sells meat out of a bus. The novel is a farcical re-telling of the history of the Hungarian people and satirizes contemporary American suburbia.{{cite web |last1=Hammond |first1=Dewey |title='The Convalescent,' by Jessica Anthony |url=https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Convalescent-by-Jessica-Anthony-3222447.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |date=9 August 2009}} The novel was published by McSweeneys in 2009 and won McSweeneys inaugural Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award.{{Cite web|url=https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/mcsweeneys-issue-14|title=McSweeney's Issue 14|website=The McSweeney’s Store}}
Her second novel, Chopsticks, coauthored with graphic designer Rodrigo Corral, was published by Penguin/Razorbill in 2012. Chopsticks is “a multimedia narrative about a piano prodigy told through words, pictures and memorabilia,”{{cite web |title=CHOPSTICKS |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jessica-anthony/chopsticks-anthony/ |website=Kirkus Reviews |language=en}} published as both a traditional book and an app, was featured in The Wall Street Journal{{cite web |last1=Alter |first1=Alexandra |title=Blowing Up the Book |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204468004577169001135659954 |website=Wall Street Journal |date=20 January 2012}} and won Apps Magazine’s (UK) “App of the Year.”
Enter the Aardvark, published in March 2020, sold in a six-house auction to Little, Brown & Co. The novel follows a closeted Republican congressman and a Victorian taxidermied aardvark that ends up in his possession,{{cite web |last1=Greenman |first1=Ben |title=Can Political Satire Outpace Reality? 3 Books Toss Their Hats in the Ring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/christopher-buckley-make-russia-great-again-political-satire.html |website=The New York Times |date=2 July 2020}}{{cite web|title=In Jessica Anthony's New Novel, a Taxidermied Aardvark Leads to a Politician Getting Canceled|date=2020-03-05|publisher=Creative Capital|url=https://creative-capital.org/2020/03/05/in-jessica-anthonys-new-novel-a-taxidermied-aardvark-leads-to-a-politician-getting-canceled/|access-date=2020-11-24}} and was called “an ingenious political satire” by The Guardian.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/23/enter-the-aardvark-by-jessica-anthony-review-achingly-funny-farce|title=Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony review – achingly funny farce|first=Jude|last=Cook|date=April 23, 2020|website=the Guardian}} The novel was a finalist for the New England Book Award in Fiction,{{cite web |title=2020 Finalists |url=https://newenglandbooks.org/page/book-awards |website=New England Book Awards}} a New York Times Editors’ Choice,{{cite web |title=9 New Books We Recommend This Week |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/9-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html |website=The New York Times |date=9 July 2020}} and was featured in Time Magazine.{{cite magazine |title=Political Satire 'Enter the Aardvark' Is Wonderfully Weird |url=https://time.com/5805115/jessica-anthony-enter-the-aardvark/ |magazine=Time|date=18 March 2020 }}
Anthony’s short stories have appeared in Best New American Voices, Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeney’s, New American Writing, among other places.{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/1085251/jessica-anthony.html?tab=penguin-biography|title=Jessica Anthony|website=Penguin.co.uk|date=August 2024 }}
Her novel, The Most, was published by Little, Brown & Co. and Doubleday UKurl=https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/jessica-anthony in July 2024. It was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in September 2024.{{cite news |title=The 2024 National Book Awards Longlist |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/2024-national-book-awards-longlist |access-date=13 September 2024 |work=The New Yorker |date=12 September 2024}} In 2025, she was promoted to senior lecturer in English at Bates College.https://www.bates.edu/news/2025/05/13/bates-announces-faculty-promotions-including-tenure-awards-for-2025/
Bibliography
- The Convalescent (McSweeney's/Grove), 2009{{cite web |title=Fiction Book Review: The Convalescent by Jessica Anthony, Author . McSweeney's $22 (243p) ISBN 978-1-934781-10-4 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-934781-10-4 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}}
- Chopsticks (Razorbill), multimedia novel collaboration with designer Rodrigo Corral, 2012{{cite web |title=Children's Book Review: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. Razorbill, $19.99 paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-59514-435-5 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59514-435-5 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Review: 'Chopsticks' by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral novel beyond words |url=https://www.tampabay.com/features/books/review-chopsticks-by-jessica-anthony-and-rodrigo-corral-novel-beyond-words/1216560/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}}
- Enter the Aardvark (Little, Brown and Co./Penguin RandomHouse UK), 2020{{cite web|title=Review: The aardvark stays in the picture|date=2020-03-25|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-03-25/enter-the-aardvark-jessica-anthony-review}}
- The Most (Little, Brown & Co./Doubleday UK), 2024{{cite book |url=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jessica-anthony/the-most/9780316576376/?lens=little-brown | isbn=978-0-316-57637-6 | title=The Most | date=6 November 2023 | last1=Anthony | first1=Jessica | publisher=Little Brown }}
Awards and honors
- Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction, 2024{{cite news |title=The 2024 National Book Awards Longlist |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/2024-national-book-awards-longlist |access-date=13 September 2024 |work=The New Yorker |date=12 September 2024}}
- Barnes and Noble's Monthly Pick in Fiction, 2024{{cite web |title=B&N Monthly Pick |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-most-jessica-anthony/1144328598?ean=9780316576376|website=Barnes & Noble |language=en}}
- Finalist, the New England Book Award in Fiction, 2021
- Best of 2020, Esquire Magazine{{cite web |last1=Westenfeld |first1=Adrienne |title=The 47 Best Books of 2020 (So Far) |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g30630848/best-books-of-2020/ |website=Esquire |date=1 December 2020}}
- 100 Must-Read Books of 2020, Time Magazine{{cite magazine |title='Enter the Aardvark' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 |url=https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2020/5904353/enter-the-aardvark/ |magazine=Time|date=11 November 2020 }}
- Recipient of Creative Capital Award in Literature, 2013
- McSweeney’s “Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award," 2005
- Barnes and Noble’s “Discover Great New Writers”{{cite web |title=B&N Discover Great New Writers, Single People - Fiction, Love & Relationships - Fiction |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/bn-discover-great-new-writers/love-relationships-fiction/single-people-fiction/_/N-rhxZ111w |website=Barnes & Noble |language=en}}
- 2010 ALA Notable Books for Adults{{cite web |title=The Convalescent {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/convalescent |website=Ala.org}}
References
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Category:21st-century American novelists