Maria Semple Popular Books

Maria Semple Biography & Facts

Maria Keogh Semple (born May 21, 1964) is an American novelist and screenwriter. She is the author of This One Is Mine (2008), Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2012), and Today Will Be Different (2016). Her television credits include Beverly Hills, 90210, Mad About You, Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, Suddenly Susan, and Ellen. She is a 2013 recipient of the Alex Awards. Early life Semple was born in Santa Monica, California. Her family moved to Spain soon after she was born. There her father, the screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr., wrote the pilot for the television series Batman. The family moved to Los Angeles and then to Aspen, Colorado. Semple attended boarding school at Choate Rosemary Hall, then received a BA in English from Barnard College in 1986. Career Semple's first screenwriting job was in 1992, for the television show Beverly Hills, 90210. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Outstanding Television Series, in 1997 for Mad About You. In 2006 and 2007, she was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award, for Arrested Development. This One is Mine was a finalist for the 2010 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award. She appeared in the 2004 David O. Russell film I Heart Huckabees. She is active in the Seattle literary community, and is a founding member of Seattle 7 Writers. Her writing has appeared in the magazine The New Yorker. She has also taught fiction writing at the Richard Hugo House. Novels Semple's novels are This One is Mine (2008), Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2012), and Today Will Be Different (October 2016), all published by Little, Brown and Company. This One is Mine is about a woman who has it all, a loving family and wealth; however, her unhappiness leads her to make dangerous decisions in the pursuit of "more." Where'd You Go, Bernadette is about an agoraphobic architect, mother, and wife who is struggling to adjust to life in Seattle and goes missing just before a family trip to Antarctica. Where'd You Go, Bernadette spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list, won the American Library Association's Alex Award, and was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. In 2013, Annapurna Pictures and Color Force acquired the rights. Cate Blanchett starred in the film adaptation, directed by Richard Linklater, which was released on August 16, 2019. Today Will Be Different takes place over the course of a single day and tells the story of a woman who starts the day determined to be her best self. Personal life Semple is in a relationship with producer, writer and reclusive raconteur George Meyer and has one daughter with him, Poppy. They reside in Seattle. In 2007, a newly discovered species of moss frogs from Sri Lanka was named Philautus poppiae after their daughter, a tribute to Meyer's and Semple's dedication to the Global Amphibian Assessment. References External links Official website Maria Semple at IMDb. Discover the Maria Semple popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Maria Semple books.

Best Seller Maria Semple Books of 2024

  • Gravity Is the Thing synopsis, comments

    Gravity Is the Thing

    Jaclyn Moriarty

    One of Real Simple’s Best Books of the Year“I loved this book. . . . Funny, heartbreaking and clever with a mystery at its heart.” Jojo Moyes“With an eye as keen for huma...

  • Waiting for Bojangles synopsis, comments

    Waiting for Bojangles

    Olivier Bourdeaut

    An “oddball fairy tale” (The New York Times)shortlisted for one of France’s highest literary prizesa dark, funny, and wholly charming novel about a young boy and his eccentric fami...

  • Limelight synopsis, comments

    Limelight

    Amy Poeppel

    In a smart and funny novel by the awardwinning author of the critically acclaimed “bighearted, charming” (The Washington Post) Small Admissions, a family’s move to New York City br...

  • Martini Henry synopsis, comments

    Martini Henry

    Sara Crowe

    Life isn’t an exact science. Things can be troublesome. Like pregnant stepmothers, the insandouts of French existentialism . . . having an unexceptional name. In 1988, seventeenyea...

  • Goodbye, Paris synopsis, comments

    Goodbye, Paris

    Anstey Harris

    International Bestseller A Book of the Month Club PickThe Little Paris Bookshop meets Jojo Moyes in Goodbye, Paris, an utterly charming novel that proves that sometimes you have ...

  • The Heart of Henry Quantum synopsis, comments

    The Heart of Henry Quantum

    Pepper Harding

    In the bestselling tradition of A Man Called Ove and the beloved film Love Actually comes a quirky, “winsome tale of an unexpected love triangle late in life” (Publishers Weekly) b...

  • Good Eggs synopsis, comments

    Good Eggs

    Rebecca Hardiman

    Named a Best FeelGood Book by The Washington PostWhen a home aide arrives to assist a rambunctious family at a crossroads, simmering tensions boil over in this “witty, exuberant de...

  • The Sweet Spot synopsis, comments

    The Sweet Spot

    Amy Poeppel

    Amy Poeppel brings her signature “bighearted, charming” (The Washington Post) style to this wise and joyful novel that celebrates love, hate, and all of the glorious absurdity in b...

  • Alice and the Fly synopsis, comments

    Alice and the Fly

    James Rice

    'Powerful' Closer'A darkly quirky story of love, obsession and fear . . . a beautiful story hung around the enchanting and heartbreaking voice of teenager Greg' Anna JamesMiss Haye...

  • Small Admissions synopsis, comments

    Small Admissions

    Amy Poeppel

    People’s Book of the Week“Perfect for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep.” Booklist​Top 6 Books You Need to Read BuzzFeed​Best Books to Give Every Book Lover on Your List Town & ...

  • How to Be Second Best synopsis, comments

    How to Be Second Best

    Jessica Dettmann

    A hilarious and heartwarming novel about the complicated, messy, delightful struggles of modern life, for all fans of Marian Keyes, Holly Wainwright and Zoe Foster Blake.Going from...

  • The Patron Saint of Second Chances synopsis, comments

    The Patron Saint of Second Chances

    Christine Simon

    The selfappointed mayor of a tiny Italian village is determined to save his hometown no matter the cost in this “charming farce that highlights the triumph of hope and community” (...

  • Multiple Listings synopsis, comments

    Multiple Listings

    Tracy McMillan

    What would you do if your excon father suddenly came to visit…indefinitely? Family drama ensues when Nicki’s dad unexpectedly wants to move in with her, her son, and her boyfriend ...

  • Musical Chairs synopsis, comments

    Musical Chairs

    Amy Poeppel

    “Poeppel has created a story that is well thought out, well plotted, well written, and fully developed. A delightful novel that celebrates the messiness and joy to be found in real...

  • None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive synopsis, comments

    None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive

    Carolyn Prusa

    Perfect for fans of Maria Semple and Jennifer Weiner, this “laughoutloud gem” (Beck DoreyStein, New York Times bestselling) of a debut novel follows Ramona through the fortyeight h...

  • The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao synopsis, comments

    The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao

    Martha Batalha & Eric M. B. Becker

    'Zesty' Daily Mail'A real gem of a book' StylistA wickedly funny tale of two rebellious sisters in 1940s Rio de JaneiroEuridice is bright and ambitious. But this is Brazil in the ...

  • The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton synopsis, comments

    The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton

    Eleanor Ray

    For fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and Evvie Drake Starts Over comes a “heartwarming and tender…goodhumored and uplifting” (BookPage) debut about a reclusive artist whose collec...

  • Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe synopsis, comments

    Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe

    Evan James

    Named one of 2019’s most anticipated reads by Entertainment Weekly, “a hilarious and witty joy of a novel about a family’s insanely dramatic summer at their new island home” (Cosmo...

  • Rabbit Cake synopsis, comments

    Rabbit Cake

    Annie Hartnett

    People Magazine Book of the Week A Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, The Chicago Review of Books, Minnesota Public Radio, and more An Indies Introduce and In...

  • Anxious People synopsis, comments

    Anxious People

    Fredrik Backman

    Instant #1 New York Times BestsellerA People Book of the Week, Book of the Month Club selection, and Best of Fall in Good Housekeeping, PopSugar, The Washington Post, New York Post...

  • Ordinary Hazards synopsis, comments

    Ordinary Hazards

    Anna Bruno

    For fans of Celeste Ng and Mary Beth Keane comes an impeccably paced and transfixing debut novel that “vividly renders the messiness of a single human life in all its joy and heart...