Nicole Mazzarella

Nicole Mazzarella grew up in Ohio and writes with sensitivity and precision about rural, Midwestern life. She lives with her husband and three children in Illinois. This Heavy Silence, winner of the Christy Award, is her first novel.

The setting for This Heavy Silence was inspired by Maplewood Farm in Lucas, Ohio. The farm takes its name from the pen name her great-grandmother used when publishing newspaper articles and a short story.

Nicole has taught creative writing at Old Dominion University and currently teaches creative writing at Wheaton College. Prior to teaching, Nicole worked in a variety of settings, including the 1996 Olympics, an Episcopal Cathedral, a bank, an insurance company, and a software company. She received her B.A. in journalism from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky and her M.F.A. in creative writing with an emphasis in fiction from Old Dominion University.