Hillary Jordan

Hillary Jordan grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. She received her BA in English and Political Science from Wellesley College and spent fifteen years working as an advertising copywriter before starting to write fiction. She got her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Her first novel, MUDBOUND, was published by Algonquin Books in March 2008 and became an international bestseller. It won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Fiction, founded by Barbara Kingsolver and awarded biennially to an unpublished debut novel that addresses issues of social justice, as well as a 2009 Alex Award from the American Library Association. It was the 2008 NAIBA (New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Assoc.) Fiction Book of the Year and was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. PASTE Magazine named it one of the Top Ten Debut Novels of the Decade. MUDBOUND has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Serbian, Polish, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese Simple. MUDBOUND was adapted into a 2017 Netflix film starring Mary J. Blige and Carey Mulligan. The film debuted at Sundance and garnered many accolades and honors, including Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting ACtress and Best Song. Hillary's second novel, WHEN SHE WOKE, was published by Algonquin Books in October 2011. It was a #1 Indie Next pick, one of BookPages Best Books of 2011 and a BookList Editor's Choice for Best Fiction of 2011. It has been translated into French, Spanish, German, Turkish, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese. Hillary is also the author of the Kindle single "Aftermirth." She lives in Brooklyn, along with half the writers in America.