Writers of the MidCoast

Close your eyes and think of a writer from Maine. It’s Stephen King, right? While King, who resides in Bangor, might be one of the most popular novelists of our time, many famous writers also have ties to Maine—and not just any region. These well-known writers of past and present have either lived in or written about the MidCoast.

 

 

 

Elizabeth Strout

Fiction writer Elizabeth Strout is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Olive Kitteridge, set in Crosby, Maine. The book was made into an HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand in 2014. Born in Portland, Strout attended Bates College before moving to New York. But Maine remained a frequent theme in Strout’s writing, including the setting for her novel Amy and Isabelle in the fictitious town of Shirley Falls. Strout lives part of the year in Brunswick.

 

 

Rachel Carson

The famed marine biologist who is often credited with starting the environmental movement did her most important work in MidCoast, Maine. Published in 1962, Caron’s groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, alerted a large audience to the dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the law. Carson retired from her government job and bought a house on Southport Island where she spent her summers studying and writing about the sea life that inspired her work.

 

 

Adam White

Published in 2022, The MidCoast: A Novel was a smash bestseller. While a work of fiction, it was hailed for its portrayal of the people and atmosphere of the MidCoast region. The novel is a rags-to-riches tale of a family of lobstermen and a local writer who is obsessed with their story. White, who grew up in Damariscotta, teaches writing and lacrosse in Boston. The novel is his first published work, so it remains to be seen whether the MidCoast will be the setting of any future work.

 

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe was living in Brunswick when she published the first installment of her landmark book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1951. Though Uncle Tom’s Cabin was to become controversial for its oversimplified depiction of slavery, the book was one of the first to raise awareness about the brutality against African slaves in the American South. Her Brunswick residence was declared a National Historic Landmark and today, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House is open to the public.

 

 

Elizabeth Gilbert

Known for her 2007 best-selling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, and the subsequent film, it was a 1997 GQ article that started Gilbert’s career and inspired the movie, Coyote Ugly. When the film hit theaters, Gilbert also published her first novel, Stern Men. Like Adam White, Gilbert trained her eye on lobstermen in the MidCoast. The book is told through the eyes of a recent boarding school graduate who gets wrapped up in the local lobster trade through her attempts to join the male-dominated profession.

 

 

Tess Gerritsen

As an international bestselling author, Tess Gerritsen has sold over 40 million books worldwide. Her latest book, The Spy Coast, is about a retired CIA operative living in small-town Maine. Although Gerritsen longed to be a writer, she first chose a career in medicine and became a practicing surgeon. While working as a doctor, she wrote her first medical thriller which became a best seller. Gerritsen lives in Camden with her husband who is also a physician.

 

Interested in more MidCoast creativity? Learn more about the thriving MidCoast art scene.