Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script and Summer Romance, shares openly about her leap from writing YA – which felt comfortable and safe – to writing romantic comedies for adults and the vulnerability it demands. She explains why awkwardness is her perfect recipe for humor in romance. With insights into her messy creative process and her philosophy of embracing what is fun and interesting, Annabel inspires us to embrace the imperfections of the writing life and focus on writing the stories that belong to us.

She is also the author of two novels for young adults, A Girl Named Digit and Double Digit, as well as Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?, a collection of essays based on her column that appeared on the Huffington Post, The Week and The Rye Record. She has a BA in English from Duke University and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. She hosts an author series called Friends with Words and spent several years on the novel writing faculty at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in Connecticut with her family.