logo
Wrong email address or username
Wrong email address or username
Incorrect verification code
Maggie Shipstead
Maggie Shipstead is a novelist and short story writer. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Maggie's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Tin House, The Paris Review Daily, VQR, American Short Fiction,... show more

Maggie Shipstead is a novelist and short story writer. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Maggie's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Tin House, The Paris Review Daily, VQR, American Short Fiction, The Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. Her story "La Moretta" was a 2012 National Magazine Award finalist. Her debut novel, "Seating Arrangements," was a national bestseller and the winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the L.A. Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction.
show less
Maggie Shipstead's Books
Recently added on shelves
Maggie Shipstead's readers
Share this Author
Community Reviews
A Reading Vocation
A Reading Vocation rated it 9 years ago
I mainly read this book because, for some reason, I am drawn to stories about ballet dancers. There are lots of ballet details in the book to satisfy that curiosity of mine, and I really liked that it focused on a member of the "corps" rather than a star performer. Still, I wish the book would have ...
Reader! Reader!
Reader! Reader! rated it 10 years ago
This is Shipstead's second novel, and to date it has not gotten quite the acclaim or recognition of her first. Astonish Me takes place largely in the 1970s–90s, with some bouncing back and forth. The main character, Joan, has spent her entire life working toward being a top ballerina. And she almo...
Abandoned by Booklikes
Abandoned by Booklikes rated it 11 years ago
I really loved Maggie Shipstead's "Seating Arrangements"and thought that novel was a fresh and often crazy look into a family during the wedding weekend of the oldest daughter."Astonish Me" is about professional ballet which I have to say besides thinking it looks very pretty and often breathtaking ...
janetfurnee
janetfurnee rated it 11 years ago
A little bit of The Turning Point mixed in with a delicious karmic ending ,this book somehow kept me engaged even though I knew nothing about ballet. The characters are all fascinating and the writing smooth. I am usually only into thrillers and science fiction, so kudos to the author. I really enj...
Steeped in Science, Submersed in Story
I got this through the goodreads giveaway program.In all honesty, this might be a 4-star read, but I personally appreciated it so deeply that it's a 5-star for me. A novel about ballet and dancing and dancers that's by someone who actually knows something about dancing. Not just throwing a few fre...
see community reviews
Need help?