Monica Wood is a bestselling and award-winning author, celebrated for her novels, memoirs, and short stories. She is best known for her works such as "Ernie's Ark," "One in a Million Boy," "Secret Language," and several other standalone books. Wood was born in Mexico, Maine, and grew up in a family of devout Catholic Irish descendants, who worked in paper mills. Her grandparents, who were descendants of Canada, followed the storytelling tradition, which Wood believes has significantly contributed to her writing career. Wood and her sisters were the first in their family to attend college. Her father's proficiency in grammar helped her develop a sense of storytelling at a young age, while her grandfather's love for melodramatic ballads, a part of the island traditions, further influenced her writing style.
Wood's fictional work is not autobiographical but draws inspiration from her family's experiences. Her own life has been shaped by many of her family's traditions, with her older siblings playing a significant role in raising her and her other younger siblings, after their parents passed away when she was young. Her uncle, a Catholic priest, was also a significant male presence in her life. Wood's stories often feature families that consist of various individuals who share common experiences, reflecting her own upbringing.
As a published author, Wood has written four works of fiction, including "The One-in-a-Million-Boy," which won the 2017 Nautilus Award (Gold) and the 2017 fiction prize from the New England Society in the City of New York. Her novel "Any Bitter Thing" spent 21 weeks on the American Booksellers Association extended bestseller list and was named a Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other works include "Ernie’s Ark" and "My Only Story," which was a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award. Wood has also written a memoir, "When We Were the Kennedys," which won the Maine Literary Award for Memoir in 2013 and the Sarton Women's Literary Awards for Memoir in 2012.