biography
Who is this Lisa Reardon person?
Having grown up in small towns and rural communities in Michigan, Lisa Reardon is currently writing and teaching in Virginia.
She received her BA in English and Theatre from the University of Michigan and her MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama.
Ms. Reardon has taught fiction writing at New York’s Gotham Writers’ Workshop, on and off, since 1998.
Her work
Ms. Reardon's published work includes the deeply moving novels BILLY DEAD, BLAMELESS, and THE MERCY KILLERS, all of which received warm praise from critics.
THE MERCY KILLERS
"Sharply written and stylistically brilliant" | The Chicago Sun-Times
BLAMELESS
"an insightful, empathetic novel" | Publishers Weekly
BILLY DEAD
"A brave, heart-wrenching debut. I couldn't look away." | Alice Munro
Her plays have been produced at numerous theatres in NYC and regionally, though now Ms. Reardon is concentrating on her fiction. Her plays show a marked contrast to her later work in their themes, though her deep heart and humor shine here too. There are swashbuckling female pirates, sweet grandmothers, and hairbrained kidnappers.
Teaching & Novel Critiques
Teaching and mentoring have been mainstays throughout Ms. Reardon's career. Not only has she worked with writers from all over the world at Gotham, but she's been passionate about encouraging teens in psychiatric settings as well as incarcerated youth to express themselves through creative writing. Recently, book doctoring and editing have become important parts of her mentoring process.
