'The School for Good Mothers' by Jessamine Chan '12 Out Now with Simon & Schuster

A debut novel by alumna Jessamine Chan ’12 is on sale now in the US & Canada with Simon & Schuster. UK publication will follow on March 3, 2022. 

In The School for Good Mothers, struggling mom Frida Liu finds herself a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing her daughter, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. 

A page-turner with satirical bite, The School for Good Mothers was featured by LitHub as a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 and received starred reviews by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal. 

Carmen Maria Machado, celebrated author of In the Dream House, calls Chan’s novel: “A terrifying novel about mass surveillance, loneliness, and the impossible measures of motherhood —The School for Good Mothers is a timely and remarkable debut.”

Jessamine Chan’s short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publisher’s Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Brown University. Her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Wurlitzer Foundation, Jentel, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Anderson Center, VCCA, and Ragdale. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. 

An excerpt of The School for Good Mothers can be read here.