Jacqueline West, Writer
About Jacqueline
Jacqueline (Cobian) West grew up in western Wisconsin, within sight of the Twin Cities. She earned a BM in voice performance with a minor in English from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, changed her mind about being a classical singer midway through grad school, and earned her English teaching certification at Edgewood College. She has worked as a church soloist, barista, Montessori preschool teacher, dinner theatre actress, voice instructor, arts writer, waitress, and high school English teacher, and is now happily spending her days as a full-time writer. She lives amid the bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota, with her husband and their dog, a Springer Spaniel mix named Brom Bones.
Jacqueline loves dogs of all shapes and sizes, is sadly allergic to cats (though she manages to write about them without developing a rash), and is at least a little bit afraid of all fish larger than a hot dog bun. If you are sharing a pizza, she will ask for the crust pieces. Don’t get her started talking about Kurt Vonnegut, Muse, The Simpsons (seasons 1 – 8, anyway), or Sylvia Plath, or you’ll be sorry.
THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME ONE: THE SHADOWS, Jacqueline’s first work for young readers, is forthcoming from Dial in the US and will also be published in Italy and Germany. Her poetry has appeared in a variety of print and online publications and has garnered several awards, including a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg prize and two Pushcart nominations. Her poetry series, Cherma, is forthcoming in fall 2010 from UW-Madison’s Parallel Press.
Contact Jacqueline with questions, comments, speaking invitations, etc. at: jacqueline <at>
Jacqueline is represented by Chris Richman of Upstart Crow Literary.
Schedule:
February 18 – 26: THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE pre-release dinner tour
June 2010: THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME ONE: THE SHADOWS debuts
September 23 – 24: South Dakota Library Association convention, Sioux Falls, SD