Ivy Claire Pochoda (born January 22, 1977) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and former professional

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player. Pochoda grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where she attended Saint Ann's School. She currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Education

Pochoda holds a BA from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(1998) in Classical Greek and English and American Literature. She also received an MFA in 2011 from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

in Fiction. She was the 2009 James Merrill House Writer in Residence.

Writing

Her first novel, ''The Art of Disappearing'' was published in 2009 by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

. Her second novel, ''Visitation Street'' was published by

Ecco Ecco or ECCO may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Ecco the Dolphin'' (series), a series of action-adventure science fiction video games ** ''Ecco the Dolphin'', a 1992 video game * Ecco (''Gotham''), a TV series character Organizations ...

, a publishing imprint of

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

, in July 2013. ''Visitation Street'' is only the second title chosen by

Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including ''A Drink Before the War''. Of these, four were adapted a ...

for his eponymous imprint.

Sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The ''Was'' and other ...

, an imprint of

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, will publish ''Visitation Street'' in the United Kingdom. ''Wonder Valley'' was published by

in 2017.

Squash

Pochoda played

professionally between 1998 and 2007, representing the United States during her career. She reached a career-high world ranking of 38th in March 1999, having joined

Women's International Squash Players Association The Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) was the governing body for the women's professional squash circuit between 1983 and 2011. The WISPA World Tour involved over 80 tournaments annually worldwide. Over 200 players were regi ...

full-time in 1998. In her college career at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Pochoda was individual national champion in 1998, and led Harvard to national championships in all four of her years on the team. She was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and was a four-time All-American and First Team all-Ivy. In May 2013, she was inducted into the Harvard Hall of Fame.

Works

Books

* ''The Art of Disappearing'' (2009) * ''Visitation Street'' (2013) * ''Wonder Valley'' (2017) * ''Epoca ~ The Tree of Ecrof'' (2019) * ''These Women'' (2020)

Articles

* * *

References

External links

2013 Interview with Ivy Pochoda in The Los Angeles Times

2013 Interview with Ivy Pochoda in LA Weekly

2009 Interview with Ivy Pochoda in Vanity Fair
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pochoda, Ivy 1977 births Living people Writers from Brooklyn Harvard Crimson women's squash players American female squash players 21st-century American novelists American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Novelists from New York (state) Harvard College alumni Bennington College alumni Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) alumni