Carla Kaplan

I am so honored to be a Finalist. What amazing company to be in!

Announcing the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists PEN America is thrilled to announce the Finalists for the 2026 Literary Awards. Join us for the Ceremony on March 31, 2026!

We are excited to announce the finalists for the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards! Our finalists range from promising debut authors to literary legends. Learn more about this year's honorees: https://pen.org/2026-pen-america-literary-awards-finalists/

I’ll be doing a reading at @Wellesleybooks on Thursday, January 22. Please come hear about the amazing and inspiring @JessicaMitford, British aristocrat-turned-American Communist, who traded wealth and status for a life of radical activism.
wellesleybooks.com/event/carla-...

“An absolutely delicious biography of the best Mitford sister. Decca (her lifelong nickname) shared her sisters’ beauty, wit, & charm but none of their fascist tendencies, instead working her entire life for other people’s civil rights.”—Boston Globe 75 Best Books of 2025 @cktroublemaker.bsky.social

What an honor!

Announcing the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists PEN America is honored to announce the Longlists for the 2026 Literary Awards, which will confer nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.

Congratulations to all of the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards nominees! With a list that includes biography, poetry, translation, science writing, and more, this year’s longlist has something for every reader. Join us in celebrating this year’s nominees, see here: pen.org/announcing-t...

Very exciting. Honored to be part of this list!

2025 LONGLIST BIOGRAPHY Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, by Sam Tanenhaus (Random House) Constantine Cavafy: A New Biography, by Gregory Jusdanis and Peter Jeffreys (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star, by Mayukh Sen (W.W Norton) A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America's Disabled, by Alex Green (Bellevue Literary Press) Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution, by Amanda Vaill (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore, by Ashley D. Farmer (Pantheon) Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, by Claire Hoffman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford, by Carla Kaplan (Harper) Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin, by Sue Prideaux (W. W. Norton) William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love, by Philip Hoare (Pegasus Books)

2025 LONGLIST BIOGRAPHY Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, by Sam Tanenhaus (Random House) Constantine Cavafy: A New Biography, by Gregory Jusdanis and Peter Jeffreys (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood's First South Asian Star, by Mayukh Sen (W.W Norton) A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America's Disabled, by Alex Green (Bellevue Literary Press) Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution, by Amanda Vaill (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore, by Ashley D. Farmer (Pantheon) Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, by Claire Hoffman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford, by Carla Kaplan (Harper) Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin, by Sue Prideaux (W. W. Norton) William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love, by Philip Hoare (Pegasus Books)

Announcing the National Book Critics Circle 2025 Longlist for Biography

"She grew up with the life that many people think they want...And she walked away from all of it." Listen (at 21:30) to @cktroublemaker.bsky.social on WWDB Radio discussing TROUBLEMAKER: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford: bit.ly/4q89UyW @harperbooks.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social

What a fabulous view of @JessicaMitford! Thanks@AndrewKeen!

@cktroublemaker.bsky.social keenon.substack.com/p/an-anglo-a...

This book chronicles the British aristocrat who dedicated her life to social justice Carla Kaplan discusses her new book, 'Troublemaker,' about British aristocrat Jessica Mitford, who spirited herself to America in 1939 and dedicated her life to social justice.

Thrilled to be included by @MarcWeingarten in his great book review feature for the @latimes.com.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Troublemaker | Hurst Publishers A Kirkus Reviews 'Nonfiction Book of the Year' From British country homes to Republican Spain and civil rights America, the inspiring, wildly entertaining story of Jessica Mitford—investigative journ...

Hurst Publishers

Thrilled to announce that British edition of Troublemaker is out today from #HurstPublisher.

‘Solid, even-handed… impressive.’ — Spectator
'Troublemaker refuses to reduce this most beautifully messy and complicated of Mitfords to bon mots.’ — NYT
A Kirkus Reviews Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

This just came out in the New Yorker. I join other fans of Decca's, #PeterSussman, #MimiPond, #LeslieBrody, and more in being glad to see the spotlight on #JessicaMitford. Thanks you #RachelSymes and #TheNewYorker.

The High-Born Rebel Who Took Up the Cause of the Commoner A new biography details the secrets and scandals of the Mitfords, a notorious family of aristocrats—and of the one sister who broke away from the rest.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Jessica Mitford Was Raised to Be an Aristocrat. Instead, She Became a Communist. How a daughter of one of England’s most storied families ended up on the other side of the world—and the political spectrum—from her parents and infamous siblings.

Publication day today! Perfect timing for this wonderful excerpt in Town & Country:

www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts...

Very glad that @AlexandraJacobs.bsky.social so clearly grasps why Mitford is important and why she is the most interesting of all the Mitford sisters. I appreciate the attention from @nytimes.com and hope Mitford fans @muv-and-farve.bsky.social appreciate the book!

Reintroducing Jessica Mitford, the Activist With a ‘Concrete Upper Lip’

New York Times Just reviewed Troublemaker. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/b...

Thanks for the Shout out, Lissa. So proud to have such amazing blurbs, such as this one from the amazing Amanda Vaill:

#JessicaMitford

On the occasion of Jessica Mitford's birthday, it is evident that we need her fighting spirit -- and her humor -- now more than ever.