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cropped-ZJack-Headshot.jpgZACHARY MICHAEL JACK has published more than two dozen books in a variety of genres, including fiction, poetry, literary journalism, creative nonfiction, and personal essay for adults and young adults alike, in addition to his work as an active playwright. Zachary’s fiction has earned national runner-up honors in its class in the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award; his poetry has been awarded the Prentice Hall Prize, and his nonfiction has been shortlisted for best books of the year. The author and his work have been featured in USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and the Washington Examiner, among many others. Zachary’s eclectic books have been favorably reviewed by industry-leading opinion-makers such as The New York Review of Books, Publisher’s Weekly, Choice, Kirkus, and Foreword Reviews. 

What Cheer Named Book of the Year Medalist

What Cheer: A Love Story has been awarded the Silver Medal in its class as the runner-up in the 2010 Foreword Reviews Book of the Year competition.

Part romantic comedy, part whodunit, part great American road trip, What Cheer asks a lover’s ageless questions: where, when, and with whom? Here is a celebration of love sprung from perfectly surreal yet real places What Cheer, Lost Nation, Story County. Here is a comedy of errors featuring three not-yet-over-the-hill friends, a series of dreamy love letters, and a mysterious list of warm, nearly-gone touchstones that inspire a rollicking ride through the Heartland. What Cheer is love medicine for those whose daisy chains reach the sweetest, most far-flung places.
Sample what authors, journalists, librarians, and reviewers are saying about What Cheer:
“Critics are raving about Jack’s…tribute to midwestern values.” –Julia Ann Charpentier, Foreword Reviews

“Jack writes simply…it fits the subject–an old-fashioned search for a soulmate among Iowa fields.” –Mike Kilen, The Des Moines Register

“As much a sonnet to…near-forgotten traditions as it is the tale of one man’s pursuit.” –Mary Stegmeir, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

“Zachary Michael Jack joins new and old in this clever, endlessly inventive mystery and love story…a blend of experience and innocence, ingenuity and earnestness–and hope.” –Barbara Lounsberry, author, Time and Chance

“For all of us who have ever pinned dreams to a particular place, Zachary Michael Jack’s What Cheer isn’t just a love story, it’s a spiritual fulfillment.” –Adrienne Lamberti, author, Talk the Talk

“A celebration of midwestern values at their loving best!” –Lynne Carey, Ames Public Library