BROUSSARD, Meredith (K.) 1974-

PERSONAL:

Born 1974, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of therapists. Education: Harvard University, B.A. (English), 1995; Columbia University, M.F.A., expected, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Philadelphia, PA. Agent—Rosalie Siegel, 1 Abey Drive, Pennington, NJ 08534. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Freelance writer. Speaking Tree, technical director of Brain Opera, Lincoln Center Festival, 1996. Co-organized and performer, 215 Festival of Books and Music, 2002.

MEMBER:

Author's Guild, National Book Critics' Circle, Pennsylvania Association of Black Journalists.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Pennyslania Council on the Arts grant, 2002; Breadloaf Writers' Conference, fellow, 2004.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) The Dictionary of Failed Relationships: Twenty-six Tales of Love Gone Wrong, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Philadelphia City Paper, Philadelphia Inquirer, Hartford Courant, Chicago Reader, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Press, Harvard Crimson, and Philadelphia magazine. Cross Connect, contributing editor.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

The Encyclopedia of Ex-Girlfriends, an anthology of writings from the male perspective.

SIDELIGHTS:

Freelance writer Meredith Broussard wrote about literature, restaurants, sex, romance, and fashion for a variety of periodicals. She has also edited The Dictionary of Failed Relationships: Twenty-six Tales of Love Gone Wrong, an anthology of literary fiction by prominent young female writers. Realizing that at the age of twenty-six, she could count twenty-six failed relationships, Broussard was inspired to collect stories reflecting the diverse emotional outcomes of a breakup. She found that talking helped heal her own heartache and led to many conversations with women who had their own enlightening and sometimes funny experiences to share. For her book, Broussard contacted her favorite writers and netted contributions from Susan Minot, Elizabeth Benedict, Judy Budnitz, Heidi Julavits, Jennifer Weiner, and Darcey Steinke, among others.

Several reviewers recommended Broussard's collection as a tonic for those suffering from lost love and credited the group of contributors as including excellent new talent. While a Kirkus Reviews writer indicated that several of the stories in The Dictionary of Failed Relationships were perhaps attributable to "a wave of adolescent feminism," a Cosmopolitan contributor dubbed the book "sassy, sexy, and sometimes sad." Other reviewers responded to the book's humor and variety. Critic Kelly Marcella wrote in the University of Western Ontario Gazette that the work provides "hilarious and thoughtful perspectives" that will appeal to brokenhearted readers. Kristi L. Jobson commented in a review for the Harvard Crimson that it is "a kind of Chicken Soup for the Jaded, Overworked, Yuppie Soul," and that the stories are "cringe-worthy, hilarious and occasionally end happily." Booklist critic Kristine Huntley considered The Dictionary of Failed Relationships to be "a hip, smart collection" that stands on the strength of its writing, as well as its appeal to fellow sufferers.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2003, Kristine Huntley, review of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships: Twenty-six Tales of Love Gone Wrong, p. 1643.

Cosmopolitan, May, 2003, review of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships, p. 491.

Harvard Crimson, October 2, 2003, Kristi L. Jobson, review of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2003, review of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships, p. 491.

ONLINE

Meredith Broussard Home Page,http://www.failedrelationships.com (June 8, 2005).

University of Western Ontario Gazette Online,http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/ (June 12, 2003), Kelly Marcella, review of The Dictionary of Failed Relationships.