Alison

Espach

New York Times Bestselling Author

Fiction Novelist

Travels from: Providence, RI

“Espach’s wit and warmth deliver a gratifying story about how people who have given up might find a reason to start caring again.” ― The Washington Post

Alison Espach is the New York Times best-selling author of The Wedding People, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a TODAY Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club pick, a Barnes and Noble Book Club Pick, and the #1 Indie Next Pick for August 2024. The Wedding People will be published in over twenty countries. She is also the author of Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, a Chicago Tribune and NPR “Best Book of 2022,” as well as The Adults, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Barnes and Noble Discover pick. Her fictional audio series In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People is an Audible Original. She has written for McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, LitHub, Joyland and other places. She lives and teaches creative writing in Rhode Island.

Alison received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation for the Arts, Millay Arts, The Wassaic Project, the Cuttyhunk Writers Residency and the San Miguel Literary Sala.

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“The Wedding People is the perfect book to wrap up your summer reading. . . . heartwarming [and] hilarious.” ― Jenna Bush Hager, The Today Show’s #ReadwithJenna

“A collision of diametrically opposed life events and general drama, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements. . . . Espach has an eye for the full gamut of emotions that go hand in hand with lifelong commitment, from humor to self-involvement to pathos.” ― Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review

“Deeply satisfying. . . . A story of what it means to lift oneself out of one life and into another through acts of individual will and fellowship with others. . . . Espach is now three for three on delivering funny, emotionally moving explorations of the difficulties people have in being themselves.” ― John Warner, Chicago Tribune

“Deceptively complex…Espach’s story of a life-changing chance encounter is as rewarding as it is unexpected.” ― Lucy Feldman, Time

“A refreshingly sharp and funny examination of loss, love and wrestling with the expectations we have for our lives. This book is the rare lush escape that avoids falling into predictability; the characters feel full and real, and offer genuine moments of insight and warmth amidst their quirky circumstances.” ― Jillian Capewell, HuffPost

“They say a good actor can read a phone book and still keep an audience spellbound. Alison Espach is that kind of writer. She is a master of taking the seemingly mundane and creating moments that transfix.” ― Maren Longbella, Star Tribune

“By deftly invoking many popular romantic comedy tropes, Espach fills this novel with champagne-tinged fizz, while never losing sight of the more sober emotional truths that kicked off her narrative.” ― Bustle

“Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, or Elizabeth Berg.” ― Library Journal, starred review

“The Wedding People is so much more than a funny story (though it is very funny). Espach has penned a keenly observed novel about depression, love, the ways women make themselves small, and how one woman got over it. Fully realized and completely memorable.” ― Booklist, starred review

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Honors, Awards & Recognition

New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Editor’s Choice
A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick
A Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
A #1 Indie Next Pick August 2024
A Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2022
An NPR Best Book of 2022