{{Short description|Canadian writer, screen writer and comedian}} {{Infobox person | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Toronto, Canada | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * Queen's University at Kingston * King's College London }} | occupation = | years_active = | website = {{URL|https://www.monicaheisey.com/}} }}
'''Monica Heisey''' is a Canadian writer, screenwriter and comedian based in London. She has written for ''Schitt's Creek'', the ''Baroness von Sketch Show'' and ''Workin' Moms'', and created the Sky Comedy series ''Smothered''. Her first novel ''Really Good, Actually'' was released in 2023.
==Early life and education== Heisey was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.<ref name="Ermelino">{{cite web |last1=Ermelino |first1=Louisa |title=Breaking Up Is Hard to Do in Monica Heisey's Bittersweet Debut Novel |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/openbook/article/90280-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-in-monica-heisey-s-bittersweet-debut-novel.html |website=PublishersWeekly.com |access-date=7 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> She has a twin sister and a younger sister; her father is a lawyer and mediator<ref>https://www.schmidtmediationgroup.com/peter-heisey/</ref> and her mother was a public servant.<ref name="Saner" /> Heisey completed undergraduate studies at Queen's University in 2010.<ref name="QUAlumniProfile" /> Following graduation she moved to London, England where she obtained an MA in early modern literature from King's College.<ref name="Stephenson">{{cite news |last1=Stephenson |first1=Hannah |title=Writer/comedian Monica Heisey: 'I don't really trust dating apps' |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-41050244.html |work=Irish Examiner |date=17 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
==Career== Heisey has written for numerous television shows including ''Schitt's Creek'' and ''Workin' Moms''.<ref name="Collington" /><ref name="Patrick">{{cite news |last1=Patrick |first1=Bethanne |title=A 'Schitt's Creek' writer's turn to fiction is 'Really Good, Actually' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-01-12/a-schitts-creek-writers-turn-to-semicomic-fiction-is-really-good-actually |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=12 January 2023}}</ref> Her first job screenwriting position was on the ''Baroness von Sketch Show'',<ref name="Ermelino" /> for which she is a four-time Canadian Screen Award winner.
Heisey's writing has appeared in ''Vogue'', ''Elle'', ''Glamour'', and ''The New Yorker''.<ref name="QUAlumniProfile">{{cite web |title=Author makes heartbreak hilarious |url=https://www.queensu.ca/alumni/news/author-makes-heartbreak-hilarious |website=www.queensu.ca |access-date=7 July 2023 |language=en |date=29 March 2023}}</ref> Her first book ''I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better: A Woman’s Guide to Coping with Life'', a collection of essays, was published in 2015.<ref name="Gardner">{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Suzanne |title=I Can't Believe It's Not Better: A Woman's Guide to Coping with Life |url=https://quillandquire.com/review/i-cant-believe-its-not-better-a-womans-guide-to-coping-with-life/ |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=Quill and Quire |date=16 July 2015 |language=en}}</ref> The book was based on her blog-based advice column ''She Does the City''.<ref name="Ermelino" /> She published her first fiction novel, ''Really Good, Actually'', in 2023.<ref name="Saner">{{cite news |last1=Saner |first1=Emine |title=When your ex gets the cat: the writer who divorced in her 20s – and turned it into a runaway bestseller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/when-your-ex-gets-the-cat-the-writer-who-divorced-in-her-20s-and-turned-it-into-a-runaway-bestseller |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=22 February 2023}}</ref> It was inspired by her divorce at 28 years of age and the absence of that experience in popular culture.<ref name="Collington">{{cite news |last1=Collington |first1=Christian |title=Monica Heisey says divorce in her 20s inspired debut novel 'Really Good, Actually' |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2023/01/11/monica-heisey-says-divorce-in-her-20s-inspired-debut-novel-really-good-actually.html |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=thestar.com |date=11 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The book was written over the course of 2020 and has been optioned for a television series.<ref name="Collington" /> The book was listed by The Times as the best popular fiction novel of 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Siobhan |date=2024-02-22 |title=7 best popular fiction novels of 2023 |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/best-popular-fiction-books-2023-g20bxlc29 |access-date=2024-02-22 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>
Heisey has been based in London, England since 2019.<ref name="Ermelino" />
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|nm6807559}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heisey, Monica}} Category:Alumni of King's College London Category:Living people Category:Queen's University at Kingston alumni Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:21st-century Canadian women novelists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Canadian expatriates in England Category:Canadian television writers Category:Canadian women television writers Category:Canadian Screen Award winning writers