Kathryn Stockett is an American novelist. She is known for her 2009 debut novel, The Help, which is about African-American working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 1960s.
Career
Stockett worked in magazine publishing while living in New York City before publishing her first novel,
which she began writing after the September 11 attacks.
took her five years to complete, and the book was rejected by 60 literary agents before agent Susan Ramer agreed to represent Stockett.
rose to the number one on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year after its publication
and climbed best seller charts a few months after it was released.
As of 2025, it has sold 15 million copies
Stockett's second novel, The Calamity Club is set for release on May 2026.
Personal life
Stockett grew up in Jackson, Mississippi.
Reflective of her first novel, Stockett was very close to an African American domestic worker.
A lawsuit was filed in a Mississippi court by Ablene Cooper, a housekeeper who used to work for Stockett's brother. It claimed that Stockett used her likeness in the book.
