# Monica Drake

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{{short description|American fiction writer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{for|''The New York Times'' journalist and managing editor|Monica Drake (journalist)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{infobox writer
|name=Monica Drake
|birth_place=[Eugene, Oregon](/source/Eugene%2C_Oregon), U.S.
|occupation=Writer
|nationality=American
|education=[University of Arizona](/source/University_of_Arizona) ([MFA](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts))
|genre=[Fiction](/source/Fiction)
|children=1
|website={{URL|https://www.monicadrake.com}}
}}
'''Monica Drake''' is an American fiction writer known for her novels, ''Clown Girl'' and ''The Stud Book'' and her collection of linked stories, ''The Folly of Loving Life''.

Her essays and short work have appeared in ''The Paris Review'', ''New York Times''' "Modern Love" column, ''The Rumpus,'' ''Longreads,'' ''Oregon Humanities Magazine'' and other publications. She is also the author of a significant essay, published anonymously on Longreads, which went viral and inspired energized cultural conversations about divorce court, marriage and life as a woman author.

''Clown Girl'' was a finalist for the 2007 [Ken Kesey](/source/Ken_Kesey) Award for the Novel through the [Oregon Book Award](/source/Oregon_Book_Award)s. It was named Best Book of 2007 by [Fight Club](/source/Fight_Club_(novel)) author [Chuck Palahniuk](/source/Chuck_Palahniuk) in the December 2007 issue of [Playboy Magazine](/source/Playboy_Magazine).<ref name="Playboy Book of the Year in Willamette Week">[https://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-9152-slabtown_scribbler_gets_her_bunny_ears.html "Slabtown Scribbler Gets Her Bunny Ears"] Minervini, John. Blog: ' 'Willamette Week' '. Published January 14, 2008. Accessed June 10, 2015.</ref>

Actress and comedian [Kristen Wiig](/source/Kristen_Wiig) optioned the film rights for ''Clown Girl''.<ref name="Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch">[http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/05/07/kristen-wiig-clown-girl-a-list-movie-actress/ "Kristen Wiig options 'Clown Girl.'"] Ward, Kate. Published May 7, 2010, at 4:43&nbsp;pm. Accessed February 16, 2014.</ref>

''The Stud Book'' gained attention for its "dead girl shots game" and the author's commentary "about the way the dead bodies of women have become such a popular television trope."<ref name="The Rumpus interview">[https://therumpus.net/2013/10/the-rumpus-interview-with-monica-drake/ "The Rumpus Interview with Monica Drake"] Gay, Roxane. Published October 23, 2013. Accessed June 10, 2015.</ref> ''[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)'' characterized the novel as "mesmerizing".<ref name="The Oregonian: The Stud Book review">[http://www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2013/04/the_stud_book_review_despite_s.html/ "'The Stud Book' review: Despite slow start, mesmerizing observations on life and motherhood.] Schneider, Katie. Published April 6, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.</ref>

Drake lives in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon).

In the early 1990's she was author Tom Spanbauer's first student in his now renowned "kitchen table" writing workshops, aka Dangerous Writers. She credits Spanbauer with inspiring her to begin her writing practice.

For approximately eighteen years she was a faculty member at the [Pacific Northwest College of Art](/source/Pacific_Northwest_College_of_Art) (PNCA) where she developed and launched the writing major and ran two separate speaker series, up until that college merged with another institution, becoming [PNCA Willamette](/source/PNCA_Willamette).

She is a graduate of the [University of Arizona](/source/University_of_Arizona)'s [MFA](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts) program in creative writing. There, she was a John Weston award winner, and began her teaching career alongside writing. Notably, she studied with author Joy Williams, as well as Dagoberto Gilb and Elizabeth Evans.

In 2018, Drake appeared on [Storytellers Telling Stories](/source/Storytellers_Telling_Stories), reading from her newest book, ''The Folly of Loving Life'', accompanied by singer-songwriter, Katelyn Convery.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brewer|first1=Jude|title=The Folly of Loving Life – Storytellers Telling Stories|work=Storytellers Telling Stories |url=https://www.sttspod.com/new-blog/2018/11/20/season-2-episode-2}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.monicadrake.com Author’s Homepage]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Monica}}
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:Writers from Detroit
Category:1965 births
Category:Living people
Category:University of Arizona alumni
Category:Writers from Portland, Oregon
Category:21st-century American women novelists
Category:Novelists from Michigan
Category:Novelists from Oregon

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Monica Drake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Drake) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Drake?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.