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“At last, the feminist history of booze we’ve been waiting for ” –Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

Mallory O’Meara is an award winning and best-selling author. She lives with her two cats in the mountains near Los Angeles, where she is at work on her next nonfiction book. Bourbon is her drink of choice.

Her first book, The Lady From The Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, is a Los Angeles Times bestseller. It won the 2019 SCIBA Award for Biography, the Rondo 2019 Book of the Year and was nominated for the Hugo and Locus awards. Her second book, Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol won a 2022 James Beard Award and was nominated for a Spirited Award.

Every week, Mallory hosts the literary podcast Reading Glasses alongside filmmaker and writer Brea Grant. The show is hosted by Maximum Fun and focuses on book culture and reader life.

Mallory's Featured Titles

Girls Make Movies: A Follow-Your-Own-Path Guide for Aspiring Young Filmmakers

Running Press Kids |
Young Adult

Make your own movie from start to finish with this entertaining, practical choose-your-path nonfiction guide to the world of filmmaking, from critically acclaimed author behind The Lady from the Black Lagoon

Girls belong in the world of filmmaking. While we see them acting on-screen, there are also countless women working every single job possible behind the scenes as part of the film’s crew. Are you a girl who is interested in film making? Do you wonder how you actually make a movie? Well, this is the book for you.

Girls Make Movies puts you in the driver’s seat as you create a fictitious zombie blockbuster and are guided through each stage of production and learn about the processes, techniques, and people involved in making a Hollywood hit. Luckily, every path through this nonfiction book results in the film being made, but you will be asked to make choices that will affect the outcome of the movie. Will you shoot on location or on a studio lot? Use practical or special effects? Hire a greensperson or a someone to do pyrotechnics? The choices are up to you!

Written by critically acclaimed author Mallory O’Meara and paired with eye-catching, graphic illustrations by popular comic book artist Jen Vaugh, this unique, practical book provides young girls with advice and inspiration while offering a sense of adventure as they learn how to create a movie!

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

Hanover Square Press |
Nonfiction

*A Finalist for the Spirited Award for Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits*

“At last, the feminist history of booze we’ve been waiting for “ –Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

The James Beard Award-winning history of women drinking through the ages

Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors–these are the Girly Drinks.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book–and proudly have what she’s having.

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick

Hanover Square Press |
Nonfiction
2019 SCIBA Book Award Winner for Biography

A Hugo and Locus Award Finalist

Winner of the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award

The Los Angeles Times Bestseller

A Thrillist Best Book of the Year

A Book Riot Best Book of 2019

One of Booklist’s 10 Best Art Books of the Year

The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick–one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters

As a teenager, Mallory O’Meara was thrilled to discover that one of her favorite movies, Creature from the Black Lagoon, featured a monster designed by a woman, Milicent Patrick. But for someone who should have been hailed as a pioneer in the genre, there was little information available. For, as O’Meara soon discovered, Patrick’s contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, her career had been cut short and she soon after had disappeared from film history. No one even knew if she was still alive.

As a young woman working in the horror film industry, O’Meara set out to right the wrong, and in the process discovered the full, fascinating story of an ambitious, artistic woman ahead of her time. Patrick’s contribution to special effects proved to be just the latest chapter in a remarkable, unconventional life, from her youth growing up in the shadow of Hearst Castle, to her career as one of Disney’s first female animators. And at last, O’Meara discovered what really had happened to Patrick after The Creature’s success, and where she went.

A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.

Don’t miss Mallory O’Meara’s upcoming novel, Girly Drinks

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Milicent Patrick: A Trail Blazed

A multi-media talk about the life and work of Milicent Patrick, the legendary film artist. This talk can be broad, or focused on specific aspects of her career, such as her work at Disney or her monsters for Universal Studios.

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Women on Film

A multi-media talk exploring the rich history of women behind the camera.

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Legacy of Women in Horror

A multi-media talk detailing the history of women in the horror genre that can focus on film, literature, or both!

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What Monsters Reveal About Our World

A talk or conversation exploring monsters on film and on the page, and what they show about the society that watches (or reads about) them.

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The History of American Horror

A spirited talk exploring the history of the horror genre in the United States and how it always mirrors the current issues of society.

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Heaps of Information: How to Research

A spirited talk or conversation about how to research in the modern age of the internet.

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Bottoms Up: A History of Drinking

A spirited talk exploring the history of drinking culture that can be focused on the United States, the world, or specific states/cities.

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Girly Drinks: Women in Alcohol History

A spirited talk exploring the history of women in drinking culture throughout the ages that can be narrowed down to a specific type of alcohol or region.

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How To Begin: Where to Start with Nonfiction

An engaging talk or conversation that offers tips and advice on how to begin writing a nonfiction project, from memoirs to history.

Denver Public Library | Girly Drinks: A Women’s History Month Panel

Film Courage | From New England To Hollywood: A Movie Producer’s Journey – Full Interview with Mallory O’Meara

Politics and Prose | Mallory O’Meara, “The Lady From The Black Lagoon”

The Kansas City Public Library | Girly Drinks

Book and Author Society | Mallory O’Meara Gallery View

Upcoming Events

Press Kit

Honors, Awards & Recognition

LA Times Bestseller
A Finalist for the Spirited Award for Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits
James Beard Award
2019 SCIBA Book Award Winner for Biography
A Hugo and Locus Award Finalist
Winner of the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award
A Thrillist Best Book of the Year
A Book Riot Best Book of 2019
One of Booklist’s 10 Best Art Books of the Year

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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