I’m excited to announce that I have a new book coming out. I will be signing books and telling stories at bookstores, libraries, festivals and other venues near you soon. Stay tuned for calendar dates. In the meantime, here’s a little bit of information about Stages: My Life in Stories, by me, Jessica Piscitelli Robinson.
New Memoir from Award-Winning Storyteller Jessica Robinson Wins Praise for ‘Masterful’ Blend of Comedy and Drama
September 16, 2024, New York, NY – Stages: My Life in Stories, a new collection of personal essays by renowned spoken-word storyteller Jessica Piscitelli Robinson, has been described as a “work of heart”—sometimes hilarious, sometime heart-wrenching, these incredibly powerful stories trace pivotal moments in Robinson’s remarkably eventful life, from scar tissue collected in the New Jersey suburbs of her childhood to her time working towards, and eventually in, the feature film industry in New York City to her struggles with building a family (with, in the case of her children, help from a laboratory).
Jessica Robinson is founding executive director of Better Said Than Done, the Northern Virginia-based storytelling organization that hosts, in addition to its semi-monthly shows, the annual Women’s Storytelling Festival. Before she started telling stories about her life, she lived a little. Most of the twenty-five stories collected here are from her spoken-word storytelling performances on TV, radio, and stages in theaters, libraries, tents, and bars across the country. A few were written for this book and are yet to be performed. Taken together, they add up to a memoir, a life in stories.
Award-winning author and storyteller Laura Packer calls Stages “moving and ultimately hopeful, reminding us that even if our life experiences aren’t the same, our stories overlap, and that a well-written story has the power to change readers.” And storyteller/author Ed Stivender praises Robinson’s “truly masterful” balance of light and dark.
Stages: My Life in Stories will be released on September 25, 2024, by Fayetteville Mafia Press/Tucker DS Press.
If you live in Virginia, please wait and purchase your book at The Winchester Book Gallery, in Winchester, VA, on November 16th. If you live in NY, Jessica will have books with her on October 19th when she is performing in Port Jefferson at Mostly True Things. And there will be many more in-person opportunities. But, if you can’t wait, the book is available now for preorder at www.tuckerdspress.com, on Amazon, and other retail websites.
About the Author
Jessica Robinson is the founding executive director of Better Said Than Done, the Northern Virginia-based storytelling organization that, in addition to its semimonthly shows, hosts the annual Women’s Storytelling Festival. A spoken-word storyteller, Jessica has performed at Exchange Place at the International Storytelling Festival, on WGBH’s Stories from the Stage, and for the Stone Soup, the Washington Folk, the Florida, and the Hampton Storytelling festivals. Jessica is a 2023 ORACLE Award recipient from the National Storytelling Network. In addition to contributing to magazines, reviews, and anthologies, Jessica is the author of Caged (under pen name JP Robinson) and coauthor of the anthology Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors. Jessica is a keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor.
About the Publisher:
Fayetteville Mafia Press/Tucker DS Press is a dynamic independent publishing house focusing on high-quality nonfiction and fiction books of all types by a diverse roster of authors with distinctive voices and original insights into the world around them. Visit the website for more information.
