Press Kit
Bio
Meagan Church is the instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mad Wife, The Girls We Sent Away, and The Last Carolina Girl. Her emotionally charged, empathy-driven fiction explores women’s inner lives and the silencing of their stories. Meagan holds a B.A. in English from Indiana University and is an adjunct for Drexel University’s MFA in creative writing program. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets. For more information and to follow her storytelling, visit MeaganChurch.com.
A more informal version for book events, interviews, etc.:
Meagan Church is the instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mad Wife, The Girls We Sent Away, and The Last Carolina Girl. Her emotionally charged, empathy-driven fiction explores women’s inner lives and the silencing of their stories. She apologizes for the tears her stories sometimes cause. Meagan holds a B.A. in English from Indiana University and is an adjunct for Drexel University’s MFA in creative writing program. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets. She hopes to one day add an otter to the mix.
Shortened bio:
Meagan Church is the author of the instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel The Mad Wife, as well as The Girls We Sent Away and The Last Carolina Girl. Her emotionally charged, empathy-driven fiction explores women’s inner lives and the silencing of their stories. She is an adjunct faculty member in Drexel University’s MFA program and lives in the Charlotte area with her family.
Pronunciation
Meagan = meh-gun
Headshots
Click the image below to then download a hi-resolution version.
Photo credit: Bethany Callaway
Contact
Author
Meagan Church
Speaking Engagements
Christie Hinrichs, Authors Unbound, requests@authorsunbound.com
View Meagan’s speaking profile.
Publicity Matters
Aubrey Clemans, Sourcebooks, aubrey.clemans@sourcebooks.com
Literary Representation
Celeste Fine; Park, Fine & Brower; cfine@parkfinebrower.com
Socials
Instagram: @mchurchwriter
Facebook: mchurchwriter
Substack: Writerly Ruminations
News, Interviews, Posts & Media Coverage
Click here to read coverage.
THE MAD WIFE (released 9/30/25)
The instant New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and American Booksellers Association bestseller…
From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.
They called it hysteria. She called it survival.
Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu’s carefully crafted life begins to unravel.
When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman’s constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew—and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?
In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won’t want to put it down.
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Praise for THE MAD WIFE
“In a gripping novel that’s both emotionally compelling and suspenseful, Church keeps readers guessing about just how reliable Lulu is as a narrator while also exploring her loved ones’ and doctors’ woefully misguided responses to her deep pain.”—Library Journal, STARRED Review
“Narrated with skill by Bennett, a frequent narrator of domestic suspense titles, this tale is brought to life with her melodic cadence and impeccable pacing that perfectly match the story’s tone. Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar is intentionally woven into the narrative, enriching the psychological depth and feminist critique of this historical domestic thriller. Recommended for listeners of Plath’s classic as well as The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin, as well as contemporary domestic thrillers like The Push (2021) by Ashley Audrain or Beware the Woman (2023) by Megan Abbott.” —Booklist, STARRED Review of the audiobook
“THE MAD WIFE is a true domestic horror, the kind in which there are no monsters or ghosts, but rather the restrictive, suffocating walls of womanhood, motherhood and mental illness… I read THE MAD WIFE in one breathless sitting, and I doubt any reader will be able to put it down for even a second.” —bookreporter
“A gripping portrait of 1950s suburbia with a sinister undercurrent, this novel peels back the manicured lawns and perfect smiles to reveal the secrets we bury—and the strength it takes to unearth them. A haunting, hopeful tale of resilience, reckoning, and the redemptive power of truth.”—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Amalfi Curse
“In a quietly devastating wink-and-nod to The Bell Jar, set firmly in thriller and suspense territory, Meagan Church delivers a piercing portrait of a young mother unraveling in the grip of 1950s suburbia, where Jell-O molds collapse, dishwashers invade, and card games with neighbors turn into emotional battlefields. With razor-sharp insight and aching lyricism, The Mad Wife traces a woman’s descent through sleepless nights, domestic disillusionment, and buried guilt, capturing a haunting tension between what is said, seen, and silently endured until she no longer can.”—Lee Kravetz, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.
“I devoured The Mad Wife, bite by savory bite. Church’s novel expertly captures the paradox of being a ‘perfect’ housewife in the 1950s, all while drawing a subtle parallel to the plight of the ‘ideal’ woman today. The suspenseful unraveling of women’s secrets—not to mention, their minds—kept me turning pages late into the night.” — Kristen Bird, USA Today bestselling author of Watch It Burn
“The Mad Wife is a gripping and heart-wrenching portrait of a 1950s housewife at her wits end, struggling with the alienation and claustrophobia of midcentury suburban life. In this one-sitting read, Church offers unforgettable characters, a beautiful window into life in the Fifties, and a stirring tribute to the strength of women. This should be at the top of every book club’s list this fall.” — Ashley Winstead, USA Today-bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me
“A vivid novel that deftly places you into the mind of a seemingly normal 1950s housewife, exposing the demands of motherhood and societal exceptions, while at the same time unraveling a tale of mystery and unexpected sorrow. A surprising narrative so cleverly crafted you never see the twist coming.” — Serena Burdick, author of The Girls With No Names and A Promise to Arlette
“Once again, Meagan Church deftly lights a dark corner of the past. At its heart, this story is an unflinching and evocative portrait of a woman—a wife and mother with a carefully crafted life—gradually losing herself and seeking a way back. Powerful and achingly real, The Mad Wife will linger with you long after the last page.” — Kelly Mustian, author of The River Knows Your Name and The Girls in the Stilt House
THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY (released 3/5/24)
A Southern Indie Bestseller
What happens when the girl-who-has-it-all learns that love is conditional and her future may not be hers for the choosing?
It’s the 1960s in North Carolina and Lorraine Delford has it all – an upstanding family, a perfect boyfriend, and an idyllic home complete with a white picket fence. Yet every time she looks through her father’s telescope, she dreams of leaving it all behind to go to space. It’s ambitious, but Lorraine has always been exceptional.
But when this darling girl-next-door gets pregnant, she’s forced to learn firsthand the realities that keep women grounded.
To hide their daughter’s secret shame, the Delfords send Lorraine to a maternity home for wayward girls. But this is no safe haven – it’s a house with dark secrets and suffocating rules. And as Lorraine begins to piece together a new vision for her life, she must decide if she has the power to fight for the future she wants or if she must submit to the rules of a society she once admired.
Powerful and affecting, The Girls We Sent Away is a timely novel set during the intersection of the Baby Scoop Era and Space Race that explores autonomy, belonging, and a quest for agency when the illusions of life-as-you-know-it fall away.
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Praise for THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY
“Church’s story gets deep inside Lorraine’s head with tenderness and compassion… This is a heartbreaking tale of prejudice, shame and secret-keeping within families, and a sincere and moving account of one teenager’s personal grief and inner strength…” — Historical Novel Society
“In this engaging, shocking, heart-wrenching story, readers are pulled along with Lorraine through the ups and downs of her pregnancy, optimistic for her future but saddened by its likely outcome. Fans of Church’s The Last Carolina Girl will be clamoring to read this one.” — Library Journal
“Readers will be entranced as author Meagan Church steadily peels away the veneer of the era, revealing the dark underbelly of a secretive and unforgiving society.”
—Tracey Enerson Wood, internationally bestselling author of The Engineer’s Wife and The War Nurse
“Powerful and affecting, The Girls We Sent Away underscores both the worst and best of the human heart, and the resilience and courage of women forced to walk away from their dreams to piece together new ones. Meagan Church’s sophomore novel is another important masterpiece, shining a light on a horrible bit of women’s history that the world would rather keep in a darkened corner.”
— Joy Callaway, internationally bestselling author of What the Mountains Remember
“[A]n important and vital story. With exquisite writing, Church exposes a murky little pocket of history, and a reprehensible practice that surely had a generational impact on families. Through her captivating and thought-provoking scenes, I became wholeheartedly invested in the outcome of her remarkable heroine, Lorraine Delford, cheering for her all the way.”
— Donna Everhart, USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Saints of Swallow Hill
“With beautiful prose and delicate precision, Church transports readers to the tumultuous Baby Scoop era of the 1960s, providing a well-crafted and researched look into the struggles of women during this dark period in history, and evokes a lasting impression of empathy for young Lorraine. Heart-wrenching and thought provoking, The Girls We Sent Away is a captivating novel, impossible to put down and one which will be remembered long after you turn the last page.”
— Terah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah and Long After We Are Gone
THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL (released 3/28/23)
A searing book club novel for fans of Where the Crawdad’s Sing and The Girls in the Stilt House following one girl fighting for her family, her body, and her right to create a future all her own
Some folks will do anything to control the wild spirit of a Carolina girl…
For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is as simple as it is free. Devoted to her lumberjack father and running through the wilds where the forest meets the shore, Leah’s country life is as natural as the Loblolly pines that rise to greet the Southern sky.
When an accident takes her father’s life, Leah is wrenched from her small community and cast into a family of strangers with a terrible secret. Separated from her only home, Leah is kept apart from the family and forced to act as a helpmate for the well-to-do household. When a moment of violence and prejudice thrusts Leah into the center of the state’s shameful darkness, she must fight for her own future against a world that doesn’t always value the wild spirit of a Carolina girl.
Set in 1935 against the very real backdrop of a recently formed state eugenics board, The Last Carolina Girl is a powerful and heart-wrenching story of fierce strength, forgotten history, autonomy, and the places and people we ultimately call home.
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Praise for THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL
“[A] dynamic and wrenching tale of family secrets and eugenics. Church effectively dramatizes historical injustice in this searing tale… This author is off to a strong start.”
“[A] stirring debut, THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL, follows the newly orphaned 14-year-old Leah Payne, highlighting the true meaning of family in this Carolina-set coming-of-age novel… An affecting and excellent depiction of family corruption and lies, THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL challenges Leah to remember who she is, where she came from, and get where she wants to go–back home.”
–Shelf Awareness STARRED review
“The Last Carolina Girl is a heart-wrenching and authentically rendered glimpse into the portal of a state’s secret dark culture, family ties, and the fierce strength of a young girl’s grit and resilience. Church is electric in her delivery of loss, longing and place. Unforgettable, this is a powerful debut to savor.”
–Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
“Meagan Church has written a compelling and aching debut. The Last Carolina Girl is both a story of love and a tale of abuse set in the shadow of the Depression. There, a girl’s blind obedience to her circumstances—a kind girl uprooted by her tender daddy’s death—comes with a devastating price. Leah’s life as an orphan takes her far from the comfort of sand and sea, yet she is armed with tenuous hope and a plan. Gradually, she puts together the puzzle pieces of her fractured life and uncovers truths: family can deceive and betray, but love offers salvation.”
– Leah Weiss, bestselling author of If the Creek Don’t Rise and All the Little Hopes