Listen to our interview with Judy Stanigar (Marika's Best Laid Plan, All Things That Matter Press, October 2021). The idea for this debut novel came from Judy's experience working in a treatment center for heroin addicts early in her career paired with her clinical training in how people deal with grief. She also shares insights from her stint as a junior editor at Little Brown as we discuss chasing trends and plowing through slush piles and she shares how she hates writing outlines so much she purposely queried only small presses that didn't require one.

Judy Stanigar was born and raised in Israel. When she was a teenager, she moved to the United States with her family. She attended Columbia University and worked as a psychotherapist for many years before turning her life-long passion and love of books into writing.

Her experiences as a therapist became the background for her novel Marika's Best Laid Plan, which was published in October 2021. Judy infuses her writing with the therapist's keen observation of human nature. She writes about people's frailties, which make them loveable and relatable, and tries to imbue her characters with humor and poignancy in equal measure.

Judy has lived and worked across the U.S. including a stint in Jamaica. She now lives in San Diego with her Jamaican-born husband. She spends her spare time, painting, walking the local beaches and trails, and cooking Israeli food with a Jamaican twist.

To learn more about Judy, click here.