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Courtney Maum

Biography

Courtney Maum

Courtney Maum is the author of the acclaimed novels TOUCH and I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN HERE WITHOUT YOU, which were both selected by such outlets as O Magazine, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Glamour, Marie Claire and others as one of the best books of summer. (TOUCH was a New York Times editor's choice and an NPR Best Books of 2017 pick.) Her chapbook NOTES FROM MEXICO is part travelogue and part eulogy. Her short fiction, book reviews and essays on the writing life have been widely published in outlets such as The New York Times, O Magazine, Tin House, Electric Literature and Buzzfeed, and she has co-written films that have debuted at Sundance and won awards at Cannes.

At various points in her life, she has been a trend forecaster, a fashion publicist, and a party promoter for Corona Extra. She currently works as a product namer for M·A·C cosmetics and other companies from her home in Litchfield County, CT, where she founded the learning collaborative, The Cabins, which will take place again in the summer of 2020.

Courtney's latest book is COSTALEGRE, a novel about European surrealists fleeing World War II. Her forthcoming work, BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL, is a humorous guide to help aspiring authors navigate their debut publishing experience.

Courtney Maum

Books by Courtney Maum

Costalegre
by Courtney Maum - Fiction, Historical Fiction

It is 1937, and Europe is on the brink of war. In the haute-bohemian circles of Austria, Germany and Paris, Hitler is circulating a most-wanted list of “cultural degenerates” --- artists, writers and thinkers whose work is deemed antithetical to the new regime. To prevent the destruction of her favorite art (and artists), the impetuous American heiress and modern art collector, Leonora Calaway, begins chartering boats and planes for an elite group of surrealists to Costalegre, a mysterious resort in the Mexican jungle, where she has a home. The story of what happens to these artists when they reach their destination is told from the point of view of Lara, Leonora’s neglected 15-year-old daughter, who has been pulled out of school to follow her mother to Mexico.

Touch
by Courtney Maum - Fiction

Estranged from her family, best friends with her driverless car, partnered with a Frenchman who believes in post-sexual sex, international trend forecaster Sloane Jacobsen is the perfect candidate to lead tech giant Mammoth's conference for affluent consumers who prefer virtual relationships to the real things. But early in her contract, Sloane starts picking up on cues that physical intimacy is going to make a major comeback, leaving many --- Sloane included --- to question if the 40-year-old's intuitions are as dependable as they once were. And if Sloane goes rogue against her all-powerful employer, will she be able to let in the love and connectedness she's long been denying herself?

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You
by Courtney Maum - Fiction

Artist Richard Haddon is in despair. He's supposedly "successful" in that his art is selling, but he despises the work he’s doing. Even worse, his mistress has dumped him, and his once-wonderful marriage has turned frosty and impersonal. Just when you might think his life cannot get any worse, it does, making his road to redemption rough indeed --- as well as a terrific read.