Saundra Mitchell

Last updated
Saundra Mitchell
Born (1973-09-03) September 3, 1973 (age 51)
OccupationAuthor
SpouseJayne Walters

Saundra Mitchell (born September 3, 1973) [1] is an American novelist who has also written under the pseudonyms of Jessa Holbrook and Alex Mallory.

Contents

Career

Mitchell is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. Mitchell wrote short stories in kindergarten, a play in fourth grade, and entries for her high school's literary magazine. She was kicked out of the U.S. Army in the early 1990s for being queer, after which she began writing scripts for a The Dreaming Tree, a small production company. [2]

Mitchell worked as the head screenwriter and executive producer with Dreaming Tree Films for twenty years. [3] Using her screenplays, the company produced more than 400 films. [3] She has Academy Award eligibility ten times. [3]

Personal life

Mitchell is gay and has daughters. [3] She is married to her wife, Jayne Walters, whom she met online and is transgender. [2] Walters was the first openly transgender manager at the Indianapolis Public Library. [4]

In 2023, after Indiana state lawmakers passed laws banning books deemed "obscene" or "harmful to students" in school libraries and banning gender-affirming care for minors, Mitchell moved from Indiana to Maryland. She later participated in protests against the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor , which overturned Montgomery County Public Schools's policy of not allowing opt-outs of instruction involving LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks. [2]

Selected accolades

YearWorkAccoladesResultRef.
2009Shadowed Summer Junior Library Guild book listSelection [5]
2010 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult MysteryFinalist [6]
Society of Midland Authors Award for Best Children’s BookWinner [7]
2020All the Things We Do in the Dark Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Finalist [8]
Junior Library Guild book listSelection [9]
Indiana Authors Award for Best Young Adult NovelWinner [10]

Publications

Fiction

Standalone novels

  • Shadowed Summer (2009)
  • Breathkept (2011)
  • Defy the Dark (2013)
  • While You're Away, as Jessa Holbrook (2013)
  • Wild, as Alex Mallory (2014)
  • Mistwalker (2014)
  • All the Things We Do in the Dark (2019)
  • The Prom: A Novel Based on the Hit Broadway Musical, with Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, and Matthew Sklar (2019)

The Vespertine series

Camp Murderface series

Nonfiction

Short stories

Anthologies

Filmography

Films

Shorts

TV Series

References

  1. ↑ "Saundra Mitchell". Goodreads. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  2. 1 2 3 Griffith, Kristen (August 3, 2025). "What a queer author in Maryland thinks of book bans". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Bio". Saundra Mitchell. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  4. ↑ Byrne, Bridget (November 24, 2024). "Trans people were a hot topic during the Anne Arundel Board of Education race. Here's how they felt". The Capital. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  6. ↑ "Nominees: The Edgar Awards". The Edgar Awards. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  7. ↑ "Past Winners". The Society of Midland Authors. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  8. ↑ Hart, Michelle (2020-03-10). "Here are the Finalists For the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  9. ↑ "All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  10. ↑ "2020 Awards". Indiana Authors Awards. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
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