Viola Shipman

Wade Rouse is the USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and internationally bestselling author of 15 books, including five memoirs and ten novels. Wade’s books have been translated into nearly 25 languages and have been bestsellers across the world. He chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the working poor Ozarks seamstress whose sacrifices changed his family’s life and whose memory inspires his fiction. Wade’s books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show as well as Michigan Notable Books of the Year. His memoirs and novels have been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today and on Chelsea Lately and chosen three times as Indie Next Picks by the nation’s independent booksellers. Wade was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Humor (he lost to Tina Fey) and was named by Writer’s Digest as “The #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Like to Have Drinks With” (Wade was sandwiched between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter Thompson). Wade will again publish two new novels in 2023 from HarperCollins/Graydon House, including a new summer novel, Famous in A Small Town (June 13), a funny, poignant story of an intergenerational friendship that is being compared to the work of Fannie Flagg, as well as a new Christmas novel, The Wishing Bridge (November 6). Wade published three new books in 2022. They were The Edge of Summer, inspired by his grandmother’s buttons and button jars, which was an instant national and indie bestseller; Magic Season, his first memoir in a decade, about how the love of baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals was the only thing to bond him and his Ozarks father, which was a Michigan Notable Book of the Year, a Barnes & Noble Father’s Day selection, a USA Today summer reading selection, and a Best Book of Summer by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. And his winter/Christmas novel, A Wish for Winter, was selected as a “Best Christmas Book” by Country Living Magazine, the November Meijer Book Club Pick and hailed by New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Magnolias Sherryl Woods (“Once again, Viola Shipman has written a captivating story for anyone whose memories of the past run deep and whose dreams for holiday magic seem just out of reach. This book keeps faith and hope alive!” Wade is a noted humorist and memoirist, whose nonfiction has been selected as part of the American Library Association’s inaugural “Rainbow List” recognizing outstanding books with significant and authentic LGBTQIA+ content for readers. Wade’s previous novels include The Secret of Snow, an instant national and indie bestseller that was named a Best Book by Country Living Magazine and Good Housekeeping; The Summer Cottage (a USA TODAY bestseller); The Clover Girls (a USA TODAY and #1 Great Lakes & Midwest Indie Bestseller); The Charm Bracelet (a 2017 Michigan Notable Book of the Year); The Hope Chest; The Recipe Box; and The Heirloom Garden. A former journalist, magazine writer and People reporter, his writing has appeared in a diverse range of publications and media, including Coastal Living, Time, All Things Considered, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Salon, Forbes, Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly. Wade earned his B.A. from Drury University and his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. He divides his time between Saugatuck, Michigan, and Palm Springs, California, and is also an acclaimed writing teacher who has mentored numerous students to become published authors. Wade hosts the popular Facebook Live literary happy hour, “Wine & Words with Wade,” every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST on the Viola Shipman author page where he talks writing, inspiration and hope, takes readers on tours of the places that inspire his novels, throws costumed monthly office parties, and welcomes bestselling authors and publishing insiders. For more, please visit http://www.violashipman.com or http://www.waderouse.com