Jennifer Weiner attended the Glamour Magazine 23rd annual Women Of The Year gala on November 11, 2013, in New York, United States. (Photo by Rob Kim)
School period
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
1981
Jennifer Weiner with her father and younger siblings in 1981.
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
Simsbury High School, 34 Farms Village Rd, Simsbury, CT 06070, United States
Jennifer Weiner studied at Simsbury High School.
College/University
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
Jennifer Weiner entered Princeton University at the age of 17 and received her bachelor of arts summa cum laude in English in 1991.
Career
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
2005
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5, Canada
Mark Feuerstein and Jennifer Weiner during 2005 Toronto Film Festival - "In Her Shoes" Premiere at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by J. Vespa)
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
2012
New York City, New York, United States
Jennifer Weiner visited the SiriusXM Studio on July 10, 2012, in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord)
Gallery of Jennifer Weiner
2017
Academy of Music, 240 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, United States
Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Writer Jennifer Weiner discussed the past elections on stage during a book tour stop at the Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 2017. (Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers)
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St, Toronto, ON M5J 2H5, Canada
Mark Feuerstein and Jennifer Weiner during 2005 Toronto Film Festival - "In Her Shoes" Premiere at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by J. Vespa)
Academy of Music, 240 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102, United States
Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Writer Jennifer Weiner discussed the past elections on stage during a book tour stop at the Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 2017. (Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers)
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
Jennifer Weiner entered Princeton University at the age of 17 and received her bachelor of arts summa cum laude in English in 1991.
Connections
husband: Bill Syken
2016
Jennifer Weiner and Bill Syken at their wedding on March 19, 2016.
Brother: Jake Weiner
2018
Palais des Festivals, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Jake Weiner attended "Under The Silver Lake" Photocall during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2018, in Cannes, France.
(When Eleanor Goode meets Gerald King, she’s a senior at W...)
When Eleanor Goode meets Gerald King, she’s a senior at Wellesley who’s won all the writing prizes. He’s just published his first novel, Dirty Blond, and is well on his way to becoming one of the literary lions of his day. Gerry seduces Ellie, spinning her a fantasy of working with him, two writers, side by side. How could she have known that, in their years together, it would be one typewriter, not two; his words, not hers? How she would become the fetcher of coffee, the holder of trinkets fans would press into his hands after readings, the keeper of his legacy.
A Memoir of Grief (Continued) begins with Gerald’s death. Ellie, who hasn’t written more than a grocery list in decades of marriage, had no intention of writing a memoir. It’s not until she realizes how broke he left her that she decides to write a whitewashed account of her life with the Great Man of Letters. Widow’s Walk spends over a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Critics hail Ellie’s talent, the revelatory way she writes about grief, and how to live through it.
Ellie enjoys the attention, but happily thinks that’ll be the end of her literary career - until her agent starts asking about another book…
(Chronicles the experiences of Candace Shapiro, a Jewish j...)
Chronicles the experiences of Candace Shapiro, a Jewish journalist from Philadelphia. The plot of the story revolves around the distress that comes from leading an unstable love life while trying to balance a professional career. Candace learns the positive benefits of being independent during tough times in her life. Weiner often acknowledges the influence that her personal history played in her first official novel.
(This book contains the story of a newscaster, Ayinde, who...)
This book contains the story of a newscaster, Ayinde, who moves to Philadelphia following her husband who is an NBA player for the 76ers. She becomes friends with Becky and Kelly and together they created an unbreakable sisterhood bond.
(This story follows the story of Kate Klein who relocates ...)
This story follows the story of Kate Klein who relocates her family and herself to Upchurch, Connecticut. She lives the suburban mom lifestyle and later spends her time starting an investigation, along with two of her friends, about the death of Kitty Cavanaugh.
(Jennifer Weiner's talent shines like never before in this...)
Jennifer Weiner's talent shines like never before in this collection of short stories, following the tender, and often hilarious, progress of love and relationships over the course of a lifetime. From a teenager coming to terms with her father's disappearance to a widow accepting two young women into her home, Weiner's eleven stories explore those transformative moments in our every day.
(Certain Girls is the sequel to Good In Bed. Released in A...)
Certain Girls is the sequel to Good In Bed. Released in April 2008, it begins where Cannie, the heroine of Good In Bed left off with her debut novel becoming an overnight bestseller.
(Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-...)
Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It’s about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.
(Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hila...)
Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hilarity, Fly Away Home is an unforgettable story of a mother and two daughters who after a lifetime of distance finally learn to find refuge in one another.
(Then Came You is a hilarious, tender, and timely tale tha...)
Then Came You is a hilarious, tender, and timely tale that explores themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and charity, the rights of a parent and the measure of a mother.
(After Maureen’s husband dies, she imagines that the years...)
After Maureen’s husband dies, she imagines that the years of abuse are over, but while looking for the Halloween decorations in the attic, Maureen finds a gift-wrapped GPS with her name on the box: an early birthday present from her late husband. When the voice from the machine starts giving her sinister directions, she learns that sometimes the dead are restless... and she’s locked in a battle not just for her life but for her soul.
(Ruth has left her job writing for a hit television show f...)
Ruth has left her job writing for a hit television show for reasons she’d rather not discuss and is supplementing her increasingly dwindling savings with freelance writing projects - namely, helping anxious high school students craft a perfect college essay and lonely souls craft captivating online dating profiles. When she’s not working, she’s swimming - lap after lap at the local indoor pool, in a desperate attempt to wash away the sting of professional failure and heartbreak that she can’t seem to shake. It takes an unexpected client to show her that appearances can be deceiving, and that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is simply dive back in.
(A rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, The Ne...)
A rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, The Next Best Thing is a heartfelt story about a young woman searching for her own happily-ever-after in the land where dreams come true.
(A prequel to Jennifer Weiner’s bestselling and beloved de...)
A prequel to Jennifer Weiner’s bestselling and beloved debut, "Good Men" takes us into the world and mind of Bruce Guberman, on the night of an ill-fated bachelor party, when Bruce and his friends decide to kidnap his girlfriend Cannie's rat terrier Nifkin. A tender, riotously funny short story, "Good Men" is about five men and their unlikely friendships and also about love, marriage, and what gives two people the courage to link hands and jump off the cliff.
(With a sparkling comedic touch and tender, true-to-life c...)
With a sparkling comedic touch and tender, true-to-life characterizations, Jennifer Weiner turns one woman’s slide into addiction and her struggle to find her way back up into an unforgettable tale of empowerment and redemption.
(A sweeping, warmhearted, and intimate tale, Who Do You Lo...)
A sweeping, warmhearted, and intimate tale, Who Do You Love is an extraordinary novel about the passage of time, the way people change and change each other, and how the measure of a life is who you love.
Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing
(Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing is a ...)
Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing is a stunningly honest, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive memoir about hunger and humor, loving and losing, and a woman who searched for her place in the world - and found it as a storyteller.
(Mrs. Everything is a smart, thoughtful, and timely explor...)
Mrs. Everything is a smart, thoughtful, and timely exploration of two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places - and be true to themselves - in a rapidly evolving world. Mrs. Everything is an ambitious, richly textured journey through history - and herstory - as these two sisters navigate a changing America over the course of their lives.
Jennifer Weiner, born Jennifer Agnes Weiner, is an American writer, television producer, and journalist, whose books have spent over five years on the New York Times bestseller list.
Background
Jennifer Weiner was born on March 28, 1970, on an army base in DeRidder, Louisiana, to a Jewish family. The next year, her family (including a younger sister and two brothers) moved to Simsbury, Connecticut, where Weiner spent her childhood. When Weiner was 16, her father abandoned the family.
Education
Weiner studied at Simsbury High School. She entered Princeton University at the age of 17 and received her bachelor of arts summa cum laude in English in 1991. After graduating from Princeton, Weiner decided to get additional training to pursue a career in journalism. She went through a six-week course at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in Florida.
Weiner then began her journalism career in Pennsylvania at the Centre Daily Times. She first worked as an education reporter, writing about a number of local school districts. She later moved to writing op-ed pieces about Generation X for the paper. These pieces eventually were distributed to other Knight-Ridder newspapers. Weiner also began writing features for Centre Daily Times. In addition, she published short stories in magazines like Seventeen and Redbook in the early 1990s.
In 1994, Weiner moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to take a job as a features writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. At the same time, she continued to write her Generation X columns, but they were now published by the Philadelphia Inquirer and distributed by the paper on a national basis. The following year, Weiner was hired by the Inquirer as a features writer. She then ceased to write her columns as part of her hiring. Weiner then spent several years writing profiles of famous people, in-depth stories on topics like drug abuse among teenagers, and covering various pop culture and political events.
While writing for the Inquirer, Weiner also branched out, writing for magazines, journals, and web sites on a freelance basis. In 1998, she became a contributing editor and column writer for Mademoiselle magazine. In addition, Weiner moved into television, regularly appearing on a local late-night show, Philly After Midnight. The contributing editorship and television work lasted only a few years as the magazine was taken off the market and the show canceled.
In the meantime, Weiner's role at the Inquirer continued to evolve. Beginning in October of 1999, she wrote a column for the Sunday book section entitled "Under Cover." In the column, she focused on where real life and literature met. As her role at the Inquirer changed, she continued to work on what would become her first novel, Good in Bed. The novel was sold to Pocket Books in 2000 and published in 2001. Like all her novels, Weiner drew on a bit of experience in her life, though the first book was the closest to her immediate life situations.
In 2000, Weiner moved from the book section back to general features at the Inquirer. She wrote a column in the general interest area that appeared weekly for about a year. A year later, when Good in Bed was published, Weiner left the newspaper temporarily to promote the book. Receiving a number of positive reviews, the book became a best-seller in the United States, making the New York Times bestseller list. It also was a hit abroad, published in 15 countries.
With the success of Good in Bed, and a deal already in place for her second book, Weiner left the Inquirer in December of 2001 to focus on writing fiction. The year 2002 proved even more fruitful for Weiner as a fiction author. Before the September publication of In Her Shoes, her brother, Jake, through his company BenderSpink, sold the book rights to Fox 2000, an arm of Twentieth Century-Fox. The book was as successful as Good in Bed in terms of sales, and was more of a critical success than the first.
After the In Her Shoes book tour, Weiner returned home to write her next novel. While Weiner was writing, her brother also sold the rights to her first novel to HBO for a television series. In 2004, Weiner's next novel, Little Earthquakes, was published. It sold more than her previous two books and also received good reviews. The book was optioned by Universal for film.
In September 2005, her fourth novel, Goodnight Nobody was published, and reached number two on the New York Times bestseller list.
In 2006, Weiner’s first short story collection, The Guy Not Taken, was published. This is a collection of eleven separate stories from Weiner. The stories cover many subject areas, from a teenage girl coping with the loss of her father, to a widow opening up her home to a pair of homeless girls.
In April 2008, Certain Girls, the sequel to Good In Bed, hit bookstores and bestseller lists nationwide.
In 2009, Weiner released Best Friends Forever, which reached number one on The New York Times bestsellers list. It was one of the longest-running bestsellers for Publishers Weekly.
During the next four years, Weiner released the novels Fly Away Home (2010), Then Came You (2011), The Next Best Thing (2012), and All Fall Down (2014).
In 2015, she released her most recent novel, Who Do You Love; and in 2016, she released an essay collection relating to her life called Hungry Life: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.
On June 11, 2019, Weiner released Mrs. Everything; a smart, thoughtful, and timely exploration of two sisters' lives from the 1950s to the present as they struggle to find their places - and be true to themselves - in a rapidly evolving world. Mrs. Everything is an ambitious, richly textured journey through history - and herstory - as these two sisters navigate a changing America over the course of their lives.
(Mrs. Everything is a smart, thoughtful, and timely explor...)
2019
Views
Quotations:
"Whenever people with money have power over people with less money, you have the potential for exploitation."
"I don't write literary fiction - I write books that are entertaining, but are also, I hope, well-constructed and thoughtful and funny and have things to say about men and women and families and children and life in America today."
"Being a novelist is hard for anyone - male or female. You don't get to quit your day job."
"I've always been interested in the economics of reproduction, who gets what they want when it comes to childbearing and how these days, money is a tremendous advantage."
Connections
On October 27, 2001, Jennifer Weiner married attorney Adam Bonin. They have two children and separated in 2010.