About
JESSICA CHICCEHITTO HINDMAN
Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman (Chick-KET-toe HĪND-man) grew up in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Her debut, Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir was named a finalist for The National Book Critics Circle Award, a “best book of 2019 ” by Amazon and Vox, described as “moving” by the New Yorker, “outrageously funny” by O, The Oprah Magazine, and “fascinating,” by NPR. Her recent writing has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The New York Times Magazine, Brevity, and Hippocampus. She holds a BA in Middle Eastern studies and an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and a PhD in English from the University of North Texas. She is an Associate Professor of English at Northern Kentucky University where she recently won the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and the Excellence in Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity Award. She lives in Fort Thomas, Kentucky with her husband, the astronomer Nathan De Lee, and their two children.
Sounds Like Titanic
A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
An Amazon "best book of 2019."
A Vox best book of 2019.
A Goodreads 2019 Reader's Choice Semi-Finalist
"Sardonic, moving."
- New Yorker
“[An] outrageously funny, shrewdly meta memoir."
- O, The Oprah Magazine
"A memoir with bite. …[Hindman’s] fascinating personal story,
with its unexpected twists, puts the memorable into this memoir."
- NPR
"Brave and captivating."
- Los Angeles Review of Books
"[A] rich, powerful book."
- Vox
"[A] clever illustration of navigating impostor syndrome and the gig economy."
- New York Times Book Review
"A timely, searing look at one of America's recent dips into the pool of post-truth."
- Colorado Sun
"Stunning...a spellbinding read."
-Apple Books
"Far-reaching, insightful, and unputdownable."
- Booklist
"Provocative...A tricky, unnerving, consistently fascinating memoir."
- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A YOUNG WOMAN LEAVES APPALACHIA FOR LIFE AS A CLASSICAL MUSICIAN—OR SO SHE THINKS.
When aspiring violinist Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman lands a job with a professional ensemble in New York City, she imagines she has achieved her lifelong dream. But the ensemble proves to be a sham. When the group “performs,” the microphones are never on. Instead, the music blares from a CD. The mastermind behind this scheme is a peculiar and mysterious figure known as The Composer, who is gaslighting his audiences with music that sounds suspiciously like the Titanic movie soundtrack.
On tour with his chaotic ensemble, Hindman spirals into crises of identity and disillusionment as she “plays” for audiences genuinely moved by the performance, unable to differentiate real from fake. Sounds Like Titanic is a surreal, often hilarious coming-of-age story. Hindman writes with precise, candid prose and sharp insight into ambition and gender, especially when it comes to the difficulties young women face in a world that views them as silly, shallow, and stupid. As the story swells to a crescendo, it gives voice to the anxieties and illusions of a generation of women, and reveals the failed promises of a nation that takes comfort in false realities.
Press
Telling Her Story: Vignettes for Women’s History Month
THE HARVARD CRIMSON
CITYBEAT
6 Questions with Memoirist Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
WHAT TO READ IF
18 Under-The-Radar Books That Deserve More Hype
BUZZFEED
A.I. Is Making it Easier Than Ever for Students to Cheat
SLATE
Readers Pick The Books They Want to See On Screen
THE GUARDIAN
The Best Books to Help You Get Over a Reading Slump
TIME MAGAZINE
Imposter Syndrome with Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
EMERGING FORM PODCAST
On Writing, Politics, and Imposter Syndrome: An Interview with Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
LUNCH TICKET
Traveling Around the World with a Fake Orchestra
A SQUARED PODCAST
¡Insólito! Una mujer tocó el violín en una orquesta falsa durante cuatro años
W RADIO, BOGATÁ
BBC 国际台记者
La insólita historia de la mujer que tocó el violín en una orquesta falsa durante 4 años
BBC NEWS MUNDO
EL PAIS
NEWSTALK IRELAND
Milli Violini: I Was a Fake Violinist in a World-Class Miming Orchestra
THE GUARDIAN
Nick Hornby's "Stuff I've Been Reading"
THE BELIEVER
Culture Under the Extended Coronavirus Lockdown
THE GUARDIAN
Why Books Matter Right Now, And Which Ones You Should Read
VOX
The Best Memoirs: The National Book Critics Circle Awards Autobiography Shortlist
FIVE BOOKS
#443 Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman and The Blue Apron
WFOD RADIO PROGRAM
National Book Critics Circle Awards Finalists Announced
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
THRILLIST
VOX
VINYL ME, PLEASE MAGAZINE
APPALACHIAN HERITAGE
AMAZON
2019 Reader's Choice Semi-Finalists: Best Memoir & Autobiography
GOODREADS
From Fake Orchestra to Actual Book Touring
BOOKPAGE
The 25 Best Memoirs of 2019 (so far)
BOOKPAGE
THE COLLEGIO
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CHAPTER 16
NKU MAGAZINE
A Different 2019 Summer Reading List
WASHINGTON POST
Best Books of 2019 So Far: Biographies & Memoirs
AMAZON
28 of the Best Beach Reads of 2019
O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir lu par Daphné B. et Pierre Flynn
RADIO CANADA
THE AVID READER
Q, CBC RADIO
NORTH TEXAN
NEW YORKER
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman: Milli Vanilli on the violin
RADIO NEW ZEALAND
COLORADO SUN
THE WOVEN TALE PRESS
'Sounds Like Titanic': What It's Like To Play In A Fake Orchestra
WVXU: CINCINNATI EDITION
10 Memoirs We Should All Be Reading in 2019
PARADE
This writer spent 4 years working as a fake violinist. Her memoir explains post-9/11 America
VOX
SHELF AWARENESS
Fielding Fake Orchestras and Economic Hardships in ‘Sounds Like Titanic’
CITYBEAT
'Sounds Like Titanic': Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman’s real memoir about her turn as a fake violinist
FAILURE MAGAZINE
Both the Wound and the Healing: Talking With Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
THE RUMPUS
Fake violinist on the massive lie that broke her
NEWS.COM/AU
Aspirations Come Up Against Economic Hardship in 'Sounds Like Titanic'
NPR BOOK REVIEW
10 New Books That'll Help You Maintain Bibliophile Status
O: THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
Fake violinist discovers true path
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
Best New Books To Read This Week
HELLOGIGGLES
10 new books Amazon's editors say are must-reads this February
BUSINESS INSIDER
NPR'S WEEKEND EDITION
WCPO CINCINNATI
AMAZON
APPLE BOOKS
Hottest New Releases for February 2019
GOODREADS
GARDEN & GUN MAGAZINE
BOOKPAGE
"What To Read When Work is Stranger Than Fiction"
GOODREADS AUTHOR INTERVIEW
THE WEEK
The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2019
HELLOGIGGLES
10 Southern Books We Want To Read in 2019
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
43 Highly Anticipated Books of 2019
GOODREADS
Writing
CREATIVE NONFICTION
“A Dream Job To Good to Be True, A Story Too Weird To Believe.” LitHub. 7 Feb 2019.
Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir. W.W. Norton, 2019.
“Exponential.” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. 2 Nov 2018.
“Milli Violini.” LennyLetter. 26 June 2018.
“Letter of Recommendation: Vivaldi’s ‘Winter.’” The New York Times Magazine. 25 Feb 2018.
“False Note.” Rhapsody Magazine. (November 2017).
“Advanced Placement.” Hippocampus Magazine. (November 2016).
“Seven Women Hold a Man’s Brain in Their Hands.” Brevity. 49. (May 2015).
“West Virginia Tunnel Vision.” Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose. 12. (2013): 45-63.
“Solo Virtuoso.” O: The Oprah Magazine Apr. 2009: 40.
“Their Struggle Is Ours Too.” HAMSA Initiative. The American Islamic Congress, 11 Sept. 2007.
“Amelia and the Sauce.” Internationally Yours: Prize-Winning Stories. Columbia, MD: Joyous Pub., 2006. 43-47.
“Something to Write About: Experiential and Observational Learning in the Creative Nonfiction Workshop." AWP's The Writer's Notebook. September 2019.
“A Gun and a Book: Teaching Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs in a Time of Revolution and Occupation.” Critical Pedagogy and Global Literature: Worldly Teaching. Ed. Masood Ashraf Raja. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 181-88.
INTERVIEWS, BOOK REVIEWS, & ARTICLES
“Favorite Reads of 2023.” Shepherd. 21 Dec 2023.
“The Best Memoirs with an Unconventional Structure.” Shepherd. 30 May 2022.
“Writers Recommend.” Poets & Writers. 28 Feb 2019.
“How to Fake an Oscar-Nominated Musical Performance.” Medium. 22 Feb 2019.
“What to Read When Work is Stranger Than Fiction.” Goodreads. 31 Jan 2019.
“Interview with Alicia Oltuski.” The American Literary Review Online. 12 May 2012.
“Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans.” Book Review. The American Literary Review Online. 30 Sept. 2011,
“Masters of the Typewriter, Doctors of the Whip.” Book Review of The Program Era by Mark McGurl. American Literary Review Online. 15 Nov. 2010.
Upcoming Events
✮ DANVILLE, KY: Lunch with the Arts at Art Center of the Bluegrass: Presentation and Workshop. Wednesday, May 8th, 12-1pm.
Contact
Book Publicist (USA): Gabby Nugent
Book Publicist (UK & Europe): Emily Cary-elwes
Literary Agent: Allison Devereux
Film Rights: Will Watkins