MAWP Alumna Jessica Chiarella returned to DePaul in early 2016 to speak about her newly published novel, And Again.
Jessica Chiarella graduated from DePaul in 2014 with a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing. Currently, Jessica is a student of the University of California, Riverside's Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing.
Jessica recently published her first novel And Again. The novel explores the lives of terminally ill patients who are given a second chance to live thanks to the impact of a miracle cure. And Again has received praise for its lush characterization, delicate story, and enchanting prose that help craft beautiful webs of identities for its protagonists. Jessica first drafted And Again during a novel writing course at DePaul with Professor Rebecca Johns-Trissler. Jessica called this experience “truly one of the most difficult and rewarding classes I’ve ever taken,” and feels that the first stages of the novel greatly benefited due to “early support and feedback from my phenomenally talented classmates.”
Jessica was recently invited back to DePaul to read her work and discuss her artistic career through DePaul’s Visiting Writer Series. The event illustrated DePaul’s commitment to supporting its Alumni and the benefits that the amazing community of graduates can have on current English students. In Jessica’s words, “It’s a great feeling, knowing that I’m still part of this community of writers, and I want nothing more than to make them all proud.”
Find out more about Jessica’s work on her website, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Get your own copy of And Again here.