The Penmen Profile: International Bestseller Alexander McCall Smith

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Alexander McCall Smith’s impressive repertoire of more than 100 books span many genres, including academic non-fiction, fiction and children’s books. His work is published in 47 languages and he has publishers all around the world. Since the publication of his first book in 1980, the international bestseller…

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The Penmen Profile: International Bestselling Author Liza Palmer

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Fiction writer Liza Palmer hit the international bestsellers list with her debut novel, “Conversations with the Fat Girl” (2005). Since then, she has written six other highly-praised books, earned two Emmy nominations for her writing in the first season of “VH1’s Pop Up Video” and now works…

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Young Author Nicole Mello Juggles Writing and College

By Rebecca LeBoeuf Between classes and homework, extracurricular actives, a part-time job and a social life, college is a busy time for many students. Imagine writing and publishing a novel on top of all that. In the middle of her college career, Nicole Mello published her first novel, “Venus,” with…

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The Penmen Profile: Women’s Fiction Writer Julie Pennell

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Julie Pennell published her debut novel, “The Young Wives Club,” in February. Pennell’s book follows four young women, still in relationships from high school, as they discover how complicated love is. With praise from Kirkus, Booklist, Bestselling Author Karen White and others, “The Young Wives Club” shifts…

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The Penmen Profile: Literary Fiction Author Annie Hartnett

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Annie Hartnett’s debut novel, published in March, is a summer must-read. Receiving starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, “Rabbit Cake” is a coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old with the facts to explain everything – that is, until her mother dies unexpectedly. The novel was…

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The Penmen Profile: Novelist Kris D’Agostino

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Bestselling authors Nickolas Butler, Ann Leary and Jonathan Evison agree that novelist Kris D’Agostino’s second book, “The Antiques,” is a must read. Dealing with heavy topics like death and natural disaster, D’Agostino adds humor as a broken family comes together again. Published in early 2017 by Scribner,…

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The Penmen Profile: Short Story Writer Dalia Rosenfeld

By Rebecca LeBoeuf Over the past couple decades, Dalia Rosenfeld‘s short stories have appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, The Los Angles Review and Moment Magazine. Her first collection, “The Worlds We Think We Know,” filled with humor and heartbreak, published this spring. The book garnered praise from Publishers…

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The Penmen Profile: Debut Novelist Lisa Ko

by Rebecca LeBoeuf Lisa Ko is celebrating the publication of her debut novel, “The Leavers,” which hit shelves today, May 2. The book won the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction and was named one of the most anticipated books of 2017 by Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Bustle, Buzzfeed and…

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The Penmen Profile: Acclaimed Southern Writer David Armand

by Rebecca LeBoeuf David Armand’s peers often compare the Louisiana native’s writing to that of William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy and Thomas Franklin, his southern heroes. Armand has three published novels, a poetry chapbook and a recently released memoir, “My Mother’s House.” The latter focuses on his childhood memories of his…

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The Penmen Profile: Award-Winning Faculty and Writer Elane Johnson

by Tricia Dannhauer The past year was momentous for one of Southern New Hampshire University’s faculty, Elane Johnson. At the 2016 commencement, she received the “Excellence in Teaching Award,” followed by earning “Best Essay Prize” in Creative Nonfiction magazine for her work, “The Math of Marriage,” in July. In addition…

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