Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something Missing, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, and Unexpectedly, Milo. His novels have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the Middle, Sticks & Stones, and Summertime. He is a columnist for Seasons magazine and has published work in Reader’s Digest, the Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, the Huffington Post, and the Christian Science Monitor.
When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary-school teacher, a storyteller, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, a life coach, and a Lord of Sealand. He is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.
Matthew is a thirty-six-time Moth StorySLAM champion and five-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on the nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and its weekly podcast. He has also told stories for This American Life, TED, The Colin McEnroe Show, The Story Collider, The Liar Show, Literary Death Match, The Mouth, and many others.
Matthew is also the cofounder and creative director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, and school districts around the world.
Matthew is the creator and cohost of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.
Matthew is married to his friend and fellow teacher Elysha, and they have two children, Clara and Charlie. He grew up in the small town of Blackstone, Massachusetts, where he made a name for himself by dying twice before the age of eighteen and becoming the first student in his high school to be suspended for inciting riot upon himself.