Annie

Hartnett

Bestselling Novelist

Award Winning Writer

Travels from: Boston, MA

“Annie Hartnett writes like no one else. Her knack for spinning a tale both hilarious and gritty, fantastical yet incisive, is on full display in The Road to Tender Hearts. I loved every page of this wild, weird, bighearted book.” — Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

Annie Hartnett is the bestselling author of three novels: RABBIT CAKE (Tin House Books, 2017), UNLIKELY ANIMALS (Ballantine/Random House, 2022) and THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS (Ballantine/Random House, April 2025).

THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS is a national bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and the winner of the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist and John Irving called it: “A miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.” Unlikely Animals was listed as one of the best books of 2022 by the Washington Post and BookRiot. It was the winner of the 2023 Julia Ward Howe prize for fiction, and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Rabbit Cake was listed as one of Kirkus Reviews‘ Best Books of 2017, was a finalist for the New England Book Award, and was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.

Along with the writer Tessa Fontaine, Annie co-runs Accountability Workshops for writers, helping writers commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. Annie lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Annie's Featured Titles

Using Humor and Imagination to Cope with Anxiety and Darkness

In 2020, I spent a year living in a house that tried to kill me and my family in every way possible — we had gas leaks, basement floods, black mold, trees falling on the house, lead in the water, rats in our car. Once we moved out of that house, I decided to write a book about a family chased by death, but I decided to make it as funny as possible. I use humor as a tool to cope with my anxiety, and I love to share that humor with audiences. That book is the Road to Tender Hearts, which is a very comic novel about everything bad that can happen to a family — and includes a cat who can predict death.

Where an Idea Comes from: Following the Rabbit Hole of Obsession

In 2018, I had just finished my first book and I had no new ideas for a second. While visiting friends, I ended up stumbling up on a mansion in a small town in New Hampshire — the only mansion in that town — and started researching the history of it. I learned about Austin Corbin, a 19th century robber baron who lived there, who started an exotic animal park in 1886. He shipped in animals all over the world. Then I learned about Ernest Harold Baynes, a real life Doctor Doolittle who came to the park to study the bison. He lived at the edge of the park, and he lived with wild animals in his house, including a bear, foxes, a deer, many birds. His wife took 1000s of pictures of their life with the animals. I don’t write historical fiction so I didn’t know what to do with all this at first –but then I learned that the park is still there! Intact at 26,000 acres. My imagination went wild from there. So I wrote about a family that lives just outside the park, and Ernest Harold Baynes appears as a ghost in the book. Unlikely Animals was published in 2022. This is a fun talk about some NH history, animal conservation, and it is also a talk about creativity and trusting that your obsessions will lead somewhere. Lots of fun photos to include of Ernest Harold Baynes.

What I've Learned Leading the Accountability Workshops AKA How to Finish Your Damn Book

Most writers want to be writing more than they are, but life (jobs, kids, exercise, washing your hair, playing with the dog) gets in the way. How do you create a writing practice that fits into your life? How do you adapt when that plan inevitably goes awry? How do you find community and support? Since 2022, I have led Accountability Workshops with the writer Tessa Fontaine — writers reach out to us when they need structure and coaching to help them get their work done. We have found tons of ways to help writers commit to their work, and to fit it in among life’s daily demands. This talk is full of practical tips and works for writers at all levels of their careers.

“Last night’s author event with Annie Hartnett — and her Concord High School visit earlier in the day — were simply wonderful, capping off an equally wonderful season of Concord Reads activities….thank you to the remarkable ANNIE HARTNETT!!! For writing a book that the Concord reading community clearly loves and appreciates; for being so accessible, flexible, and easy to work with over the last several months; for sharing her stories and bringing so much talent and energy to this week’s in-person events; and for promising to stop in Concord during her next book tour in 2025! It’s been a true pleasure.” — Liza Poinier Clendenning, Concord Reads, 2024

“Last night was wonderful! We love Annie so much and want her back for every book she writes.” — Maddie, An Unlikely Story, 2025

“Annie was an absolute pleasure to have back at the store; we genuinely love hosting her. And the audience loved it too!” — Summer, Harvard Bookstore, 2025

“Last night’s event was so great! We loved having Annie here.” — Madelyn, Malaprop’s, 2025

“The event was fabulous!” — Halli, Park Road Books, 2025

“It was a terrific night! We LOVE Annie!” — Alex, Flyleaf, 2025

“A beautiful reminder that the world is full of tragedy, but life-changing joy and connection might be just around the corner.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Hartnett’s signature blend of humor and deep emotional resonance shines through on every page. Balancing whimsy with raw emotion, Hartnett has a gift for turning life’s messiest, saddest moments into something weirdly funny and downright beautiful.” — Booklist, starred review

“In an author’s note at the end of the book, Hartnett explains that THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS was born out of a challenge she set herself — to write a funny novel about some of the worst tragedies that can befall people. It’s safe to say that she succeeds. The book is wise, witty and emotional without ever veering into sappiness….THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS is a big-hearted meditation on caregiving, second chances, and the miracle of living (and laughing) in the midst of death.” — BookReporter

Ernest Harold Baynes Wikipedia Page

Honors, Awards & Recognition

2025 New England Book Award for Fiction Winner, The Road to Tender Hearts
USA Today Bestseller
National bestseller
Indie Next Selection (for all books!)
Winner of the 2023 Julia Ward Howe prize for fiction
Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize
Finalist for the New England Book Award
Long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize