She lives outside the novelist stereotype of Madison Avenue martinis. Johanna Edwards only visits New York City once a year and has no intention of moving from Memphis any time soon. Her self-titled Web site tells its readers Edwards "has never met Elvis ... or Justin Timberlake."
At 29 years of age, Edwards is the author of three best-selling novels. She's won awards for her writing and continues to amaze readers with not only her ability, but her gracious sense of style. The University of Memphis' Distinguished Alumni Awards Gala will honor Edwards as this year's Outstanding Young Alumna at The Peabody Hotel on Feb. 29.
Edwards said she feels extremely honored to be chosen for this year's award.
"I feel really humble about the whole thing," she said. "The U of M changed me so much, and it's amazing to have come full circle."
While fighting strep throat, she spoke to The Daily Helmsman Wednesday about her career so far.
"My job is amazing," she said. "This is exactly what I wanted to do."
And she does it well. Her first three novels, "The Next Big Thing," "Your Big Break" and "How to be Cool," have each become bestsellers in the ever-growing genre of "chick lit." Edwards said the key to her success was simply persistence and constant practice of her craft.
As a student at The U of M, she put in long hours at The Daily Helmsman during each of her eight semesters. She said working there taught her how to write under lots of pressure and a looming deadline.
Edwards said she had many good experiences during her time at The University.
"My time here was so great," she said. "I was very involved, went to lots of games and even traveled abroad. I started out as an English major but quickly switched to journalism - working at The Daily Helmsman changed my mind."
Candy Justice, faculty adviser of The Daily Helmsman, remembers her well.
"Johanna has had an incredible amount of success for somebody so young. In fact, she's had a lot of success for somebody of any age," Justice said. "I loved teaching her and loved working with her at The Helmsman. This success couldn't happen to a nicer and more talented person."
After her 2001 graduation, Edwards said she wrote constantly. She said it wasn't about "crafting that elusive 'perfect paragraph,'" but just getting something down on paper.
She said most successful authors have a collection of unfinished "drawer novels" lurking in the corners of closets and the deepest realms of a person's hard drive, and usually, the writer prays they never see the light of day. She said she has started writing more than 30 novels, some of which consist of no more than 10 pages each.
But sometimes, she said, the words just click. Her first published work, "The Next Big Thing," was written in less than one month. She was offered a six-figure book deal eight months later at the tender age of 25.
"It drove me crazy," Edwards said. "I couldn't tell anyone until the deal was finalized. For three days, I couldn't eat or sleep. When they finally called to confirm, I called everyone I could think of. I had my cell phone in one hand and the landline in another, sometimes calling two people at once. I celebrated five nights in a row."
That was in December of 2003. "The Next Big Thing" was published in March 2005. Since then, Edwards has completed four other novels - two of them aimed at young readers and written under the name Jo Edwards - and has a deal for two more. Her new book, still untitled, will hit stores in August of this year.
Above all, Edwards said she hopes she'll be able to continue doing what she loves.
"I'm really passionate about this," Edwards said. "If I'm still doing the same thing 10 years from now, I'll consider myself really fortunate and really happy."
She offered some advice to other aspiring young writers.
"I always tell people to just stick with it," Edwards said. "You can edit a bad page, but you can't edit a blank one. I never imagined it could happen to me so fast, but it did, so don't give up hope."
