“I wound up going to the Kent School,” says Poeppel, “went off to college, got married. Poeppel is originally from Dallas, but her mother was a Connecticut native and instilled in her how it was the best place in the whole world to live. The first two were New York City books, as Poeppel refers to them. They are a unique combination of humor, pathos, and a view of real life.

They have been described as quick-witted and razor-sharp. Poeppel is the author of three novels: Small Admissions, Limelight, and her latest one Musical Chairs. I strongly believe that there is a lot a novelist can learn from the theater, in particular what makes great dialogue.” “I did some acting after college,” explains Poeppel, “and I’ve never stopped reading plays, attending productions, and studying playwrights. She will imagine a conversation and then create the characters and the plot. Many novelists begin with a plot, the germ of an idea that develops into a story. She later expanded it into this novel.A Fiction Writer Believes Dialogue is Key to a Successful Novel She workshopped a theatrical version of Small Admissions at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit. She lives with her husband and three sons in New York City, where she worked in the admissions department of a prestigious independent school. Welcome to the world of Small Admissions.Īmy Poeppel is a graduate of Wellesley College. Meanwhile, Kate seems to be doing very nicely, thank you, and is even beginning to find out that her broken heart is very much on the mend. And then there are the Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer.Īs Kate begins to learn there’s no room for self-pity or nonsense during the height of admissions season or life itself, her sister and friends find themselves keeping secrets, dropping bombshells, and arguing with each other about how to keep Kate on her feet. Kate’s instantly thrown into a highly competitive and occasionally absurd culture, where she interviews all types of children: suitable, wildly unsuitable, charming, loathsome, ingratiating, or spoiled beyond all measure.

Miraculously, one cringe-worthy job interview leads to a position in the admissions department at the revered Hudson Day School. It seems that nothing will get Kate out of pajamas and back into the world. When ambitious grad student Kate Pearson’s handsome French “almost fiancé” ditches her, she definitely does not roll with the punches, despite the best efforts of family and friends. One admission can change your life.forever.

Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel