Alison Espach
Alison Espach | |
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| Born | September 26, 1984 Trumbull, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Notable works |
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| Website | |
| alisonespach | |
Alison Espach (born September 26, 1984) is an American novelist. Espach is the author of three novels—The Adults (2011), Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (2022), and The Wedding People (2024). She is an associate professor of English at Providence College in Rhode Island.
Biography
[edit]Espach was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, on September 26, 1984.[1][2] She is a 2007 graduate of Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, where English professor Peter Johnson was a mentor.[3]
After graduation, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts at Washington University in Missouri, during which she wrote a thesis that would become her first novel, The Adults (2011). She moved to New York to teach writing after completing the program.[1] In 2013, she joined the faculty of Providence College.[3] She is an associate professor of English.[4]
Novels
[edit]The Adults (2011)
[edit]The Adults is a novel centered on a teenage girl growing up in a small, wealthy town in Connecticut.[5] It was published by Charles Scribner's Sons in early 2011.[6]
In the New York Times, literary critic Janet Maslin's review characterized the work as a "coming of age with a quick wit and a sharp eye".[5] Kirkus Reviews found the work to be an "an enviable first effort."[7] Dreamscape Media produced an audiobook, which was read by Tavia Gilbert; her narration was received positively by AudioFile magazine, with its reviewer writing that "Subtle shifts of tone are all Gilbert needs to give Emily a convincing voice".[8]
Film producers Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell, of Electric City Entertainment, optioned the rights to the novel in 2012.[9]
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (2022)
[edit]Espach's second novel depicts a family following the death of its eldest child. Kirkus Reviews described it as a "tragicomic bildungsroman in the shadow of loss".[10]
Henry Holt and Company's hardcover design features a 2016 painting, "The Swimming Pool", by T. S. Harris from the stock photo website Bridgeman Images, while the paperback features a commercial stock photo of flowers behind the typography.[11] Macmillan Audio released an audiobook adaptation narrated by Jesse Vilinsky.[12]
The Wedding People (2024)
[edit]In The Wedding People, Phoebe Stone travels to a Newport, Rhode Island, hotel to enjoy a night before killing herself by drug overdose. There, she befriends the bride of a wedding held at the hotel and does not end up committing suicide. Espach's third novel, The Wedding People appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list and won the fiction category in the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards.[13]
The Chicago Tribune reviewer found The Wedding People to be a "highly recommended, deeply satisfying read."[14] A Washington Post review of the audiobook adaption, narrated by Helen Laser, highlighted Laser's versatility in voicing the various characters.[15]
Publishing rights in the U.S. were acquired by Henry Holt and Company, while in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth they were won by Phoenix Books.[16] Prior to its publication, in early 2024, TriStar Pictures was reported to have acquired rights to a film adaption of the novel, naming Will Speck and Josh Gordon as directors and Nicole Holofcener as writer.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Leo, Aaron (February 10, 2011). "Coming Home". Trumbull, Connecticut: Patch.com. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ @alison.espach (September 26, 2023). "Turning 39 should always be done with flowers in your hair and a team of..." Retrieved April 16, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ a b "Alumni authors bring their literature to life at 'Veritas and Values' panel". PC News. Providence College. November 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ Machado, Christopher (July 30, 2024). "Professor's book is top novel of the summer". PC News. Providence College. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ a b Maslin, Janet (February 23, 2011). "Coming of Age With a Quick Wit and a Sharp Eye". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ Espach, Alison (February 2, 2011). "How I Got My Agent: Alison Espach". Writer's Digest. Active Interest Media. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "The Adults". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ "THE ADULTS by Alison Espach Read by Tavia Gilbert | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. May 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 19, 2012). "Electric City Options Alison Espach Novel 'The Adults'; Massy Tadjedin To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ Heller, Scott; Salazar, Miguel (December 27, 2023). "The Fine Art of the Paperback Makeover". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ "NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE by Alison Espach Read by Jesse Vilinsky | Audiobook Review". AudioFile. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ Gavin, Christopher (December 13, 2024). "Author Alison Espach on writing, teaching in R.I., and why her latest novel, 'The Wedding People,' takes place in Newport". The Boston Globe. Providence. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ Warner, John (July 27, 2024). "Biblioracle: 'The Wedding People' is Alison Espach's moving, funny latest, set at a coastal hotel". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ Powers, Katherine A. (September 12, 2024). "3 new audiobooks to make you laugh, gasp and wonder". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ "Phoenix wins Alison Espach's The Wedding People in four-way auction". The Bookseller. May 10, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (February 29, 2024). "TriStar Preemptively Acquires Rights To Novel 'The Wedding People' For Will Speck And Josh Gordon To Direct, Nicole Holofcener To Adapt". Deadline. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
External links
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