Jennifer Oko
AUTHOR
Press & Praise
Just Emilia
(coming June 10, 2025)
“
Bursting with imagination! In Just Emilia, Jennifer Oko manages to transform a stuck elevator into a black box, a hall of mirrors, and a Swiss Army knife with her astonishing storytelling powers. Three women trapped inside share a past in this entertaining novel about guilt, blame, and the possibility that forgiveness can alter the future.
“
Just Emilia is a feat of imagination. Oko asks universal questions–how do we make sense of our past and what do we want for our future?–in delightful and inventive ways. Prepare to be surprised and moved as the elevator doors close on Emilia, Millie, and Em. They may be trapped, but the reader is taken on an unforgettable journey through memory, grief, guilt, and hope.
“
Jennifer Oko trips the space-time continuum with a deft hand in this jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel. In the fluorescent glare of the Washington, DC, Friendship Heights metro station elevator, Emilia confronts her past and future selves. Funny, compassionate, and wise, Em, Emilia, and Millie are unforgettable characters, and Just Emilia is an unforgettable story.
— Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of American Ending
— Miriam Gershow, author of Closer and Survival Tips
— Laura Scalzo, author of American Arcadia
Lying Together: My Russian Affair
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When she's describing the Dostoyevskian decline of her romance, her tale becomes simply riveting.
"Editor's Choice"
The New York Times Book Review
“
[a] fascinatingly moving memoir ... an engagingly intimate voice...
The Boston Globe
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It's a heady cocktail.... a quick, juicy read.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Gloss
USA Today picks GLOSS as a "hot summer read!"
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USA Today
Pick of the Month! GLOSS reminds us of another tongue-in-cheek mystery: Carl Hiaasen's LUCKY YOU.
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Marie Claire
Five Stars. This story is fast paced, riveting and one you just can't put down.
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Affaire de Coeur Magazine
Head Case
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Dozens of Five Star Reviews on Amazon.com
I just adored this book. The writing style is quick, easy to read, and very friendly, so you feel very close to the main character, even when she's doing things you don't like. The plot is first-rate -- really clever, and done in a fantastic way.
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C.S White
All I can say is that if you don't put ALL YOUR OTHER BOOKS AWAY and read just the FIRST chapter you are NUTS; you will find yourself going and going and I will just say it now --your welcome! This is the most fun I have had reading in a long time.
“
Jennifer Elizabeth Hyndman
BIO
Jennifer’s memoir Lying Together: My Russian Affair (published under her maiden name, Jennifer Beth Cohen) was called “simply riveting” in The New York Times Book Review, which twice named it an "Editor's Choice." Publisher's Weekly called it "sharp, fast-paced... a fascinating glimpse inside the world of news gathering and contemporary Russia" and The San Francisco Chronicle said it was "a heady cocktail... a quick, juicy read." Her novel Gloss, a satire of morning television news, also received ample praise, with Marie Claire magazine comparing it to Carl Hiaasen’s Lucky You and The Chicago Tribune saying it was “a rare treat.” Gloss was optioned by eOne Entertainment to be developed as a possible television series. Her novel Head Case is a comic mystery about psycho-pharmaceutical trafficking, which she swears is not autobiographical in any way.
Her latest novel, Just Emilia, a time-traveling dark comedy about three women who are trapped in an elevator and forced to grapple with an unresolved trauma, will be published in June 2025.
In addition to her creative writing, Jennifer is a journalist and filmmaker. She is a co-founder of the boutique production company Because.Media, where they develop and create narrative nonfiction video content for outlets ranging from PBS and The New York Times to the MacArthur Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They are currently in production of two feature-length documentaries, for Netflix and HBO.
Jennifer holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Tufts University and a BFA in Studio Arts from the School of The Museum of Fine Arts. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, two teenagers, a youngish dog, and a recently rescued cat.