Scotch, Allison Winn

PERSONAL:

Married; children: one son, one daughter. Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1995.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Agent— Elisabeth Weed, Weed Literary, 55 E. 65th St., Ste. 4E, New York, NY 10065. E-mail—Allison@allisonwinn.com.

CAREER:

Freelance writer. Also worked in public relations and marketing.

MEMBER:

American Society of Journalists and Authors.

WRITINGS:

The Department of Lost & Found (novel), William Morrow (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of Allison Winn Scotch Web log. Contributor to Web sites, including ivillage.com, msn.com, and women.com. Contributor to periodicals, including American Baby, American Way, Cooking Light, Family Circle, Fitness, Glamour, Men's Health, Parents, Prevention, Redbook, Self, Shape, Woman's Day, and Women's Health.

SIDELIGHTS:

Freelance writer Allison Winn Scotch, a frequent contributor to magazines such as American Baby and Parents, is the author of The Department of Lost & Found, a novel about an ambitious political assistant whose life comes unglued after she is diagnosed with breast cancer. "The idea for The Department of Lost & Found came to me instantly and easily," Scotch remarked to Therese Walsh in a Writer Unboxed interview. "I was caught up in the grief of mourning one of my best friends to breast cancer, and I just sat down one day, imbued with the voice of this character, who was fighting the disease herself. The novel has no relation to my friend's life at all, but the germ of the idea did spring from my experience in helping her with her battle … and, of course, provided a good deal of catharsis in coping with her death."

The Department of Lost & Found centers on Natalie Miller, a thirty-year-old senior aide to a New York senator. As Natalie struggles with the devastating effects of chemotherapy, she begins to reassess her life's goals and tracks down her former boyfriends in an effort to explore her approach to relationships. Scotch's debut novel received generally positive reviews. A contributor in Marie Claire described the work as "smart and well-written," and Booklist critic Elizabeth Dickie noted that the author "handles the topic of cancer with humor and hope, never dipping into the maudlin."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2007, Elizabeth Dickie, review of The Department of Lost & Found, p. 64.

Marie Claire, May, 2007, review of The Department of Lost & Found, p. 127.

Publishers Weekly, February 12, 2007, review of The Department of Lost & Found, p. 60.

ONLINE

Allison Winn Scotch Home Page,http://www.allisonwinn.com (October 11, 2007).

Allison Winn Scotch Web Log,http://allisonwinnscotch.blogspot.com (October 11, 2007).

Trashonista Web Site,http://www.trashionista.com/ (June, 2007), review of The Department of Lost & Found.

Writer Unboxed,http://writerunboxed.com/ (May 4, 2007), Therese Walsh, "Interview: Allison Winn Scotch."