Matthew Dicks

Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, The Other Mother, Something Missing, Unexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, Twenty-one Truths About Love, as well as the nonfiction Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Art of Storytelling, and Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life. His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was nominated for a 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut. Matthew has been awarded first prize in the Magazine/Humorous Column category by the CT Society of Professional Journalists in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is the humor columnist for Seasons magazine, an advice columnist for Slate magazine. When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 23 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year. Matthew is a record 58-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 9-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. Matthew is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He coaches and consults on storytelling and communication with individuals, corporations, universities, hospitals, attorneys, clergy members, and school districts around the world. He has most recently taught at MIT, Yale University, Harvard University, The University of Connecticut Law School, Purdue University, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter's School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Matthew is the creator and co-host of the podcasts Speak Up Storytelling, a podcast that helps listeners improve their storytelling and Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes. Matthew is married to friend and fellow teacher, Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.