Alumni and Friends

Emily V. Bleeker

B.A., '02, Elementary Education

2019 Rising Star

Emily Bleeker graduated summa cum laude from Benedictine University in 2002 with a B.A. in Elementary Education. While teaching kindergarten and coordinating the gifted and talented program for Lisle District 202, she discovered her passion for writing after introducing a writer’s workshop to her students. She soon found a whole world of characters and stories living inside of her own mind. It took a battle with a rare form of cancer to give her the courage to share that amazing world with others.

Bleeker is now the best-selling author of four novels including Wreckage, When I’m Gone, Working Fire and The Waiting Room. Her books have reached over a million readers. She is a two-time Whitney Award finalist, a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and was recently listed as one of the top 100 Kindle authors of all time. She also attends conferences and literary festivals and enjoys extending her love of teaching to those with a passion for writing. She is currently writing her fifth novel, which will launch in early 2020.

Bleeker lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with her four kids and a growing menagerie of animals. Between writing and being a mom, she attempts to learn guitar, sings along to the radio (loudly), performs with a local improv troupe and embraces her newfound addiction to running. But more than anything, Bleeker loves stories. She loves to read them, watch them, listen to them and most of all—write them down and share them with anyone who will listen.