Jennifer Weiner grew up in Simsbury, Connecticut. She attended Princeton University, where she studied with John McPhee, Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates. She is currently a reporter/columnist at the "Philadelphia Inquirer" and a contributing editor at "Mademoiselle". Her short stories have been published in "Seventeen" and "Redbook". Her freelance work appears in Salon.com, "Time Out New York", "Animal Fair", the "Columbia Journalism Review" and "Seventeen". She lives in Philadelphia and appears regularly on "Philly after Midnight," Philadelphia's local late-night television show, as a commentator.