Janet Fitch (born November 9, 1955) is an American author. She wrote the novel ''

White Oleander ''White Oleander'' is a 1999 novel by American author Janet Fitch. It is a coming-of-age story about a child (Astrid) who is separated from her mother (Ingrid) and placed in a series of foster homes. It deals with themes of motherhood. The book ...

'', which became a film in 2002. She is a graduate of

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

. Fitch was born in Los Angeles, a third-generation native, and grew up in a family of voracious readers. As an undergraduate at

, Fitch had decided to become a historian, attracted to its powerful narratives, the scope of events, the colossal personalities, and the potency and breadth of its themes. But when she won a student exchange to

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

in England, where her passion for Russian history led her, she awoke in the middle of the night on her twenty-first birthday with the revelation she wanted to write fiction."About Janet"
Official website. janetfitchwrites.com Fitch was a faculty member in the

Master of Professional Writing Program A Master of Professional Writing Program is a type of graduate degree program in professional writing. Chatham University in Pennsylvania has an online MPW program. The University of Southern California's MPW program ended in May 2016, at which poin ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where she taught fiction. Two of her favorite authors are

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. Her third novel, ''

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European infl ...

'', named after the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

song of the same name, was published in September 2006.

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and writer. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the pr ...

directed a 2016 feature film based on the book.

Books

* ''Kicks'' ('' Fawcett Books'', 1996) * ''

'' (''

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

'', 1999) * ''

'' (Little, Brown, 2006) * ''The Revolution of Marina M.'' (Little, Brown and Company, 2017) *''Chimes of a Lost Cathedral'' (Little, Brown, 2019)

References

External links

Janet Fitch's Website

Janet Fitch's Blog at Wordpress.com

Janet Fitch at Literati.net

Janet Fitch at Good Reads
* 1955 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Reed College alumni Alumni of Keele University American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Writers from Los Angeles University of Southern California faculty American women academics {{US-novelist-1950s-stub