In December 2015, Virginia Zimmerman published her debut American novel, The Rosemary Spell (HMH/Clarion Books), a fantastical mystery for middle-grade readers. Kirkus calls the book “spellbinding,” and ALA Booklist describes it as a “wonderful blend of literary puzzles, adventure, and musings over memory and identity.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly calls the novel “enthralling” and “deftly plotted.” Publishers Weekly also selected The Rosemary Spell as a “pick of the week” on November 30, 2015.
In 2012, Zimmerman published La Finestra del Temps (Cruilla) in Barcelona. Translated from English into Catalan, this novel, also for middle-grade readers, was published as part of the highly respected “red steamboat” series.
Zimmerman is a Professor of English at Bucknell University. She published an academic monograph Excavating Victorians (SUNY 2008) and many articles. Her most recent scholarly article “The Curating Child” appeared in The Lion and the Unicorn and is about depictions of children in museums.
All her work—scholarly and creative—centers on issues of time and material culture.
