Janelle Brown

Janelle Brown is a New York Times bestselling author celebrated for her gripping novels that explore the complexities of family and identity. Her works include Pretty Things, Watch Me Disappear, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, This Is Where We Live, I’ll Be You, and her upcoming novel What Kind of Paradise. Her stories are known for blending domestic drama with literary suspense, often set against the diverse backdrop of California—where she draws much of her inspiration.

Janelle’s journey to becoming a novelist began early. Encouraged by a first-grade teacher who noticed her passion for storytelling and her love for reading, she held onto the dream of writing books even as her career first took shape in journalism. She spent her early years covering the dot-com boom in San Francisco, contributing to outlets like Wired and Salon. She also co-founded Maxi, a lively and now-defunct women’s pop culture magazine from the 1990s.

Her essays and journalism have appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, Elle, Wired, Self, The Los Angeles Times, and more. Over the past fifteen years, she has shifted her focus to fiction, crafting page-turning novels while living in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

You can connect with Janelle on Instagram and Twitter, or visit her website at www.janellebrown.com, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.