Diana Wagman

Diana Wagman is the author of six novels. Her first, Skin Deep, was called an “extraordinary debut” by The New York Times. Her second, Spontaneous, won the 2001 PEN West Award for Fiction. Her fourth, The Care & Feeding of Exotic Pets, was a Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers finalist and optioned for a feature film. Her latest, Extraordinary October, is her first for young adults. Her essays and short stories have appeared in various places including the Los Angeles Times, the Colorado Review, and Conjunctions as well as the anthologies Los Angeles Noir and MFA vs. NYC. She teaches fiction for Writing Workshops Los Angeles.

Articles

The Unintended Moment: Rachel Lyon’s “Self-Portrait with Boy”
Diana Wagman reviews Rachel Lyon's new book....
Diana WagmanMar 11, 2018
- Fiction
This Is Mother Love in Lisa See’s “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane”
Diana Wagman on Lisa See's "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane."...
Diana WagmanMay 13, 2017
- Fiction
The Well-Fathered Daughter
Diana Wagman reviews Gloria Norris's "KooKooLand: A Memoir," about the strange and awful ways of love....
Diana WagmanMar 2, 2016
- Memoir
Shiver Me Timbers: Daniel Handler’s Novel for Adults
"I am not tempted to dismiss Handler as glib, despite being sometimes wearied by his calculated ingenuity. The man is a clever, facile writer."...
Diana WagmanApr 6, 2015
- Fiction
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
An Interview with Andrew Lipstein, Digital Publisher
Contributor Diana Wagman interviews Andrew Lipstein, creator and editor of 0s&1s Novels....
Diana WagmanNov 7, 2014
The Devil and the Dead
In A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain, Adrianne Harun finds beauty in pitch black; she makes poetry out of brutality and grace out of terror....
Diana WagmanMay 23, 2014
Lost Girls
Death, loss and responsibility in Susan Minot’s latest novel, Thirty Girls…...
Diana WagmanFeb 12, 2014
A Hotel Bel-Air Suite of One’s Own
DANI SHAPIRO’s new book, Still Writing, contains a chapter toward the end titled “Envy.” She says envy’s a terrible, destructive force for writers, and I agree. She admits — very generally — to falling prey to the green monster, but ends ...
Diana WagmanDec 13, 2013
- Nonfiction
Erika and Envy
Cheryl Strayed, Erika Schickel, & a Facebook Fracas...
Diana WagmanAug 25, 2012
The Pervert’s Point of View
WE DRIVE BY A CAR ACCIDENT and crane our necks. We want to see the worst: the mutilated passenger, the driver crumpled against the wheel. If a director suddenly appeared and shouted, "Cut!" — wouldn't we all feel a little disappointed? "It ...
Diana WagmanJun 17, 2011
- Memoir