Jessica Verdi

Jessica Verdi is an author of young adult novels and children’s books about identity, family, acceptance, and love.
Though she’s always been a bookworm (her childhood was basically defined by the philosophy that working your way through giant stacks of library books is far superior to playing outside), she remained convinced throughout high school and college that theatre and music were meant to be her creative outlets. After nearly ten years in the NYC theatre world, she got an idea for a novel. That novel was an adult magical realism story, and while it will never see the light of day—nope, don’t ask—it was the book that started her love affair with writing. Now she can’t imagine doing anything else.
Jess received her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School and is a freelance editor of romance, women’s fiction, chick lit, YA, and kid lit. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her partner Paul and dogs Billie and Gloria.
Some more fun facts about Jess:
– She loves ALL animals, from the cute and cuddly to the large and freakish.
– She has been a vegetarian her entire adult life.
– She is a little too obsessed with TV shows about vampires, and basically any show that has ever aired on the CW or Freeform.
– If she could have dinner with any five people, living or dead, she’d go with Shonda Rhimes, Mindy Kaling, Janet Mock, Billy Eichner, Lauren Graham, and Melissa McCarthy. Okay, that’s six. Luckily they’re all still living, so she’s holding out hope…
– She loves tattoos, and figures that since you only get one body, you might as well decorate it.
– She can recite the movie Clueless from memory.
– She’s visited five continents so far. Australia, get ready!
– Outer space freaks her out like whoa.
– Her happy place is when she’s in PJs with a celebrity memoir, a glass of wine, and a couple vegetarian samosas.