FAQ

Thank you! I loved writing Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, so I'm delighted that you loved reading it. My historical novels include:

The Runaway Quilt (2002) — The story of two women, one a German immigrant and the other a fugitive slave, set in Pennsylvania during the antebellum era and the present.

The Quilter's Legacy (2003) — Sylvia Bergstrom Compson searches for her mother's long-lost antique quilts in a story that takes readers from the suffrage movement in turn-of-the-century New York to the home front of the Great War and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.

The Sugar Camp Quilt (2005) — The Underground Railroad in antebellum Pennsylvania.

The Quilter's Homecoming (2007) — Southern California in the Roaring Twenties.

The Lost Quilter (2009) — Civil War era Charleston as witnessed from the perspective of an enslaved woman who had escaped to freedom in the North (in The Runaway Quilt) but was betrayed and recaptured.

The Union Quilters (2011) — The Pennsylvania home front and the battlefields of Pennsylvania and Virginia during the Civil War.

Sonoma Rose (2012) — California wine country during Prohibition.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker (2013) — Missouri and Virginia in the antebellum era; Washington, D. C. during the Civil War; Chicago and Washington in the post-war years.

The Spymistress (2013) — Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War.

Mrs. Lincoln's Rival (2014) — Antebellum Ohio and Civil War era Washington.

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule (2015)— Antebellum Missouri and Civil War era Missouri, Washington, Viriginia, and elsewhere.

Christmas Bells (2015) — Boston in the Civil War era and the present day.

Fates and Traitors (2016) — Early Victorian era England and Antebellum and Civil War Era United States.

Enchantress of Numbers (2017) — Great Britain and parts of the Continent from 1814-1852.

Resistance Women (2019) — Germany during the rise of fascism in the years leading up to World War II.

Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters (2020) — Illinois, Kentucky, and Washington D.C. in the 18th century, with some scenes in the Confederate South.

The Women's March (2021) — New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. in the months leading up to the Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913.

Switchboard Soldiers (2022) — USA, UK, and France during World War One.

Canary Girls (2023) — The munitions factories and football pitches of World War One Great Britain.

In April 2024, just in time for the 25th anniversary of the beloved and bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series, I welcome readers back to Elm Creek Manor with a much-anticipated novel about friendship, perseverance, the power of collective memory, and the fascinating art of quilting: The Museum of Lost Quilts!

Yes! I'm happy to share that William Morrow will publish my thirty-fifth novel in 2025. More to come!

The Elm Creek Quilts novels are a series of books written by Jennifer Chiaverini. The series includes twenty-one novels, three short stories available as e-books, and a reader's guide:

The Quilter's Apprentice (1999)
Round Robin (2000)
The Cross-Country Quilters (2001)
The Runaway Quilt (2002)
The Quilter's Legacy (2003)
The Master Quilter (2004)
The Sugar Camp Quilt (2005)
The Christmas Quilt (2005)
Circle of Quilters (2006)
The Quilter's Homecoming (2007)
The New Year's Quilt (2007)
The Winding Ways Quilt (2008)
The Quilter's Kitchen (2008)
The Lost Quilter (2009)
A Quilter's Holiday (2009)
The Aloha Quilt (2010)
The Union Quilters (Feb 2011)
The Wedding Quilt (Nov 2011)
Sonoma Rose (Feb 2012)
The Giving Quilt (Oct 2012)
The Christmas Boutique (Oct 2019)
An Elm Creek Quilts Companion (Oct 2013)
The Runner's Quilt and The Fabric Diary: Two eShort Stories (Oct 2015)

In most of the books, the main character is a master quilter named Sylvia Bergstrom Compson. She and her young friend Sarah McClure open a quilters' retreat at Sylvia's family estate, Elm Creek Manor. Sarah and Sylvia run the "quilt camp" with the help of their friends, the Elm Creek Quilters. Other books are historical, featuring Sylvia's ancestors and earlier residents of the Elm Creek Valley.

If you want to read the books in the order I wrote them, read them in the order listed above. However, since I wasn't planning to write a series, I have written each book so that it stands alone. On my book tour, I often hear longtime fans tell new readers that the books should be read in the order I wrote them, but other readers have told me that they have read the books out of order and were able to follow everything just fine. Ultimately it's up to the individual reader. Please note, however, that later books inevitably give away events that occurred in previous books. If you would like to read the books in something approximating chronological order, please note the following:

• The Christmas Quilt takes place in the interim between The Quilter's Apprentice and Round Robin.
• The Sugar Camp Quilt is set in 1849-1850, so it takes place before the events chronicled in Gerda's memoir in The Runaway Quilt.
• The Quilter's Homecoming is set mainly in 1925, but it branches off from a storyline introduced in The Christmas Quilt.
• The New Year's Quilt immediately follows The Quilter's Legacy.
• The Lost Quilter begins in 1859 immediately following the events chronicled in Gerda's memoir in The Runaway Quilt.
• A Quilter's Holiday takes place while Bonnie is in Hawaii in The Aloha Quilt.
• The Union Quilters begins in 1861 and runs mostly concurrently with The Lost Quilter.
• Sonoma Rose is set in the Prohibition era immediately following the events of The Quilter's Homecoming.
• The Christmas Boutique takes place after A Quilter's Holiday.
• The Giving Quilt takes place when Sarah McClure's twins are four and a half years old.
• The Wedding Quilt flashes forward to what was, at the time it was written, The Future. The Twenty-Twenties did not turn out as I had imagined, so this novel should be considered alternative history or a dream sequence.

I appreciate your eagerness to translate my books, and I too wish my books were available in more languages. Unfortunately, it is not a simple matter of me choosing a translator. In order to have one of my novels translated into French (German, Dutch, Spanish, etc.), a French (German, Dutch, Spanish, etc.) publisher must purchase the foreign translation rights from my American publisher. The publisher that purchases those rights hires the translator to create the French (German, Dutch, Spanish, etc.) edition of the book. If a French (German, Dutch, Spanish, etc.) publisher thought my books would sell in your country, they would probably be willing to purchase the translation rights. If you and your friends would like to read my novels in your native language, I encourage you to contact publishers in your country and convince them that you would buy them. If they are overwhelmed with requests, they might be persuaded to purchase the translation rights—so it's up to readers like you to make it happen.

Kee ahv er EE nee. "Chiave" is the Italian word for "key," if that helps you remember. I admire you for trying to pronounce it and I'll answer to any close approximation.

Yes.

You can view pictures of these quilts and several more of my projects in the Quilts Gallery. More photos and patterns are included in my six pattern books from C&T Publishing:

• Elm Creek Quilts (2002)
• Return to Elm Creek (2004)
• More Elm Creek Quilts (2008)
• Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts (2009)
• Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts (2011)
• The Loyal Union Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts (August 2013)

The decision to include illustrations or photographs in a novel is entirely up to the publisher. From The Runaway Quilt through The Giving Quilt, my publishers have provided pictures of the quilts or quilt blocks on illustrated endpapers of the hardcover editions. Photos of these and the other quilts are also featured on this website in the Quilts Gallery. An eight page photo insert featuring important quilts from the series is provided in An Elm Creek Quilts Companion as well.

Audiobook versions of all my novels are currently available from bookstores, online booksellers, and Recorded Books. A select few are available in my online shop. No audiobook versions will be made for my cookbook or pattern books.

The movie rights to all of my books are available, but at this time, no production company has purchased them.

Elm Creek Manor is fictional, but the red barn on the estate is based upon a real barn in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania that has been restored and turned into a theater-in-the-round for a local community theater group, the State College Community Theatre. The fictional town of Waterford, Pennsylvania is based upon State College, Pennsylvania -- but Waterford is much smaller, just as Waterford College is much smaller than Penn State.

Yes...so I've heard. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until it was too late to change The Quilter's Apprentice. (Keep in mind that this was before Google.) If it helps, the origin of the town's name is explained in The Runaway Quilt.

Patterns for the quilts featured in the first four Elm Creek Quilts novels, as well as other quilts inspired by favorite characters from the series, are available in my book Elm Creek Quilts, published by C&T. Return to Elm Creek, my second pattern book, includes patterns for quilts from The Quilter's Legacy, The Master Quilter, and several of the earlier novels. My third pattern book, More Elm Creek Quilts, was published by C&T in Spring 2008 and includes quilts from The Sugar Camp Quilt, The Christmas Quilt, Circle of Quilters, The Quilter's Homecoming, and The New Year's Quilt. Patterns for the 140 blocks in Sylvia's Bridal Sampler are provided in my fourth pattern book, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts. Traditions from Elm Creek Quilts, was published in October 2011 and includes quilts from The Winding Ways Quilt through The Wedding Quilt. Instructions for the Loyal Union Sampler from The Union Quilters appear in Loyal Union Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts, published by C&T in August 2013. Harriet's Journey, a 100-block sampler introduced in Circle of Quilters, is featured in my seventh pattern book, Harriet's Journey from Elm Creek Quilts.

Yes, there are. Please consult your local quilt shop or quilt guild for suggestions, or check out the advertisements in quilt magazines.

The best way is to attend one of my author appearances. Please see the list of events on my online schedule.

When a new novel is coming out, my publisher arranges a book tour for me. My publisher chooses the cities based upon invitations they receive from bookstores, libraries, book festivals, or other organizations. If you would like your local bookstore or library to be added to the schedule, please encourage them to offer to sponsor an event. They can reach out to William Morrow's publicity department or use the contact form on my website to email me directly. Thank you for helping me meet more readers!

It's included in my recipe collection published in October 2008, The Quilter's Kitchen.

Unfortunately, sometimes things go wrong with the publication machinery and misprints occur. I understand how frustrating this can be when you're in the middle of a story, because it's happened to me as a reader too. If your book has pages missing and/or out of order, return it to the place of purchase for an exchange or refund.

If you've found a typo within the first few months after the hardcover publication, please let me know so it can be corrected in time for the paperback edition. If you've found a typo several years after the book was published, believe me, I've heard about it already.