Jennifer Sears, a member of the CFF Executive Committee, held her book launch for her short story collection, What Mennonite Girls Are Good For, on November 21, 2025 at Books Are Magic. Jennifer read from the book and was in conversation with author Mary Gaitskill.
The event was recorded and is available on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/U787_Bh8eNs.
Earlier this year, CFF featured Jennifer after she won the 2025 John Simmons Short Fiction Award from University of Iowa Press.
University of Iowa Press Official Publication Day
The book will have its official publication day from University of Iowa Press on November 25, 2025. The UIP catalog page has purchasing details. CFF members can use code BOOKJOY7 from 11/21/25 to 1/2/26 to purchase the book for $7.00 (+ shipping).
UIP also has a number of wonderful reviews and this summary:
"In these eleven stories, a Mennonite minister’s daughter moves from a youthful, exuberant understanding of her family’s faith toward religious doubt. Stumbling comically at times, Ruthie navigates life with and without the rules in which she’s been raised. Always physical, often sexual, Ruthie’s search for personal truth leads her from missionary outposts in Paraguay and Brazil to Mennonite towns in northern Indiana and central Kansas, a vandalized Native American site, women’s healthcare clinics, and lingerie shops on the secular, melancholy East Coast. Ultimately, these stories consider how faith and identity intertwine, the cost of abandoning one’s cultural heritage, and the complicated longing for return."
Congratulations, Jennifer! (https://jennifer-sears.com)
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