Gillian French

I'm a ridiculous, sometimes cranky, often hungry, frequently writing flibbertigibbet who really hopes she can keep doing this for a living. In case you weren't sure, my name is pronounced with a soft G sound, as in "gelato." (Better known soft G Gillians: Gillian Anderson, Gillian Flynn, Gillian Welch, etc.)

My debut novel, GRIT (HarperTeen), was an Indie Next List pick, a Junior Library Guild Selection, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and ALA Booklist, was an Edgar Award Finalist, a South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Finalist, and received both a 2018 Lupine Award from the Maine Library Association and a 2018 Maine Literary Award from the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance.

My other novels include THE DOOR TO JANUARY (Islandport Press; Bram Stoker Award Finalist), THE LIES THEY TELL (HarperTeen; 2019 International Thriller Award Finalist, an Amazon Bestselling New Release in both print and audio editions, 2019 Maine Literary Award Winner, 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection), and THE MISSING SEASON (HarperTeen; 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection, starred review from Booklist). My short fiction has placed in Writer's Digest and Zoetrope: All Story contests, as well as appearing in such publications as Weirdbook.

I hold a BA in English from the University of Maine, and I'm a member of The Authors Guild, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and the Mystery Writers of America. Currently, I live in my native state of Maine with my husband and three young sons, where I'm perpetually agonizing over my next novel (in the best possible way, of course!)