Jennifer Lancaster

2011 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI RECIPIENT

BA 1996, Political Science

Author/Syndicated Columnist

Jennifer Lancaster is the author of five memoirs Bitter is the New Black; Bright Lights, Big Ass; Such a Pretty Fat; Pretty in Plaid; and My Fair Lazy. Her three most recent books all debuted on the New York Times best seller list. Her first novel, If You Were Here, was published in spring 2011. She is also a syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services.

After graduating from Purdue, Lancaster moved to Chicago where she began her career in the healthcare industry. She moved to a technology firm, where she was laid off in 2001. She began her blog, jennsylvania.com in response to that experience and a succession of part-time jobs and turned her rants about unemployment into a successful writing career.

She has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and written for Women's Health, Elle, and Cosmopolitan UK. Her books have been mentioned in publications such as People, OK!, STAR, Redbook, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Chicago Magazine, and Time Out Chicago. She has been featured on the Today show, Oprah, and Joy Behar.

She resides in Chicago with her husband, Purdue graduate John Fletcher, and their ever-expanding menagerie of ill-behaved pets.