Jessica Brilliant Keener

Jessica Keener is the author of three novels, a story collection and the co-author of a business memoir. Her second novel, Strangers in Budapest, was an Indie Next pick, a "best new book” selection by Entertainment Weekly, and a Southern Independent Bookstore Association (SIBA) bestseller. Her debut novel, Night Swim, was a national bestseller.  Women in Bed, her collection of award-winning stories was lauded by National Critics award winner, Edith Pearlmean, who called Keener a “master of immediacy.” Keener has published more than 100 feature articles in national magazines including: The Boston Globe; O, The Oprah Magazine, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, and the award-winning anthology: Alone Together, Love, Grief, and Comfort in the time of Covid-19, which won the 2021 Washington State Book Award. She is a recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant, and writing fellowships from Brown University, Wesleyan University, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and a women’s leadership fellowship from Omega Institute. Her newest novel, Evening Begins the Day (March 2026), was an Ingram Content Group top pick at the 2026 Winter Institute. Praise from reviewers include The Jewish Book Council who called it “Restrained and powerful and Foreword Magazine, who wrote: “Narrated with deep empathy and understanding for its multiperson cast…”  Keener lives in the Greater Boston area and is working on a memoir.