"With the fingers of the potter; And the laughing tale of the fool
The arranger of disorder; With your strange and simple rules"
-- Suzanne Vega
SHORT BIO
Jamie Beth Cohen's words have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, HuffPost Personal, Salon, and many other outlets including Hippocampus Magazine. She was once named the Best Storyteller in Lancaster (PA), and her poem “that one thing” was nominated for The Best of the Net (2024) by JMWW Journal. Her work has been supported by the Shannaghe Residency (Maine) and the Martha’s Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing. The author of two YA novels, WASTED PRETTY and LIMINAL SUMMER, Jamie is currently working on DEAD DAD SEASON, a memoir about her complicated father, their layered relationship, and the aftereffects of his unexplained death. The manuscript was shortlisted for the Memoir Magazine prize in 2024, and the book is forthcoming from Kent State University Press. When she’s not writing, reading, working, or spending time with her family, she can be found mentoring incarcerated writers and novice storytellers. She is represented by Jen Newens at Martin-Newens Literary Management.
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MORE ABOUT ME
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and currently live in Lancaster City, PA with my husband, our two children and our two cats. My seventeen years outside of the Keystone state took me to Fairfax, VA; New York City; College Park, MD, and Los Angeles, CA.
I am a graduate of The Ellis School for Girls and have studied writing at Long Lake Camp for the Arts, the (now, sadly defunct) Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts at Mercyhurst College (where I later served as the Assistant Resident Director), and George Mason University where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in English/Writing with a minor in Art History. I have a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from Baruch College - City University of New York.
All I have ever wanted to do is write, but I have done a number of other things in the service of feeding, clothing and sheltering myself and my family. My favorite job was scooping ice cream when I was sixteen years old. I think everything about sixteen was wonderful and amazing, except all the stuff that was horrible.