Jessamine Chan is an American novelist and the author of ''

The School for Good Mothers ''The School for Good Mothers'' is a 2022 debut novel by American writer Jessamine Chan, published by Simon & Schuster. The novel concerns a woman, Frida, who is sentenced to a period at an experimental facility intended to rehabilitate mothers a ...

''.

Personal life and education

Chan is a first-generation Chinese-American. She grew up in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, as the daughter of Chinese professors who met in the US. Her mother is from Taiwan, and her father is from mainland China. She received her bachelor's degree from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, followed by a

Master of Fine Arts degree Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.

Career

After graduating from Brown, Chan moved to New York City to work as an editor of nonfiction reviews for ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

''. Later, she moved to Chicago and worked as editor of a research digest for

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

’s graduate business school before beginning her MFA at Columbia.

''The School for Good Mothers''

Chan's debut novel, ''

'', was published in 2022 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

. The dystopian novel was inspired by a nonfiction ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * ''The New ...

'' article in which a mother lost parental rights. She started writing the book in 2014. It was the ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

''s "Read with Jenna" book club pick when the book came out. The book was a finalist for the 2023 John Leonard Prize, awarded by the National Book Critics Circle for a first book in any genre. In 2022,

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...

's production company

Freckle Films Freckle Films is an American film and television production company. It is owned by Jessica Chastain. History In February 2016, it was reported that Chastain had launched her company. In May 2017, Kelly Carmichael became a president of producti ...

bought the TV rights to the book, with plans for

Jude Weng Jude Weng (Chinese name: Weng Fei-fei/"翁菲菲") is a Taiwanese-born American director, writer and producer of episodic streaming/TV and feature films. Career Weng's episodic experience includes both multi- and single-camera half-hour comedies ...

to direct the TV adaptation. Chan will serve as an executive producer for the show. Chan spent three years living in South Philadelphia with her husband and daughter, providing material for her debut novel.

Published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Jessamine Living people 21st-century American novelists Brown University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Writers from Oak Park, Illinois American women novelists Year of birth missing (living people) American women writers of Chinese descent 21st-century American women writers