Sharona Jacobs, portrait photographer of writers, thinkers, and visionaries

09/19/2025

Congratulations to my client, L.H. Finigan, on the review of her latest novel, "Summer People," on Kirkus! A link to the review is in the comments.

09/19/2024

Portrait of Bryan Van D**e, author of “In Our Likeness,” by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer. Brian‘s thrilling book captures what happens when the wonders and chaos of AI converge in a powerful novel about rewriting history, identity, and what it means to be human. His book is out now, September 2024.

In addition to his debut novel, IN OUR LIKENESS, he is the author of ONLY THE TRYING, a meditation on the nature of illness and recovery. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children. And on a personal note, I am so impressed he schlepped back-and-forth between Boston and New York all in the same day to come see me! He was an absolute delight to photograph.

04/02/2024

Portrait of Linda Button, writer and storyteller, by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer. Linda’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, HuffPost, PBS, and Pangyrus. Her story, "Grips", was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and recently she performed on Stories from the Stage. She hails from the Grub Street Memoir and Essay Incubators and is a blackbelt in taekwondo. Having known Linda originally from GrubStreet and admired her essays, it was an absolute treat to work with her in the studio. When we first spoke about her upcoming portrait, I asked Linda what characteristics she wanted this image to capture about her. Her response, “Humor, curiosity, thoughtfulness…capturing an active, real moment,” was absolutely perfect - so spot-on with the writing that I’d immediately been drawn to in her essays, full of life and grit, struggle and perseverance, peppered with her wonderful humor throughout.

02/02/2024

My clients, they are funny. And so are their commenters! Nice catch on finding this on X/Twitter, Chris Cool.

01/18/2024

Portrait of novelist, Crystal King, by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer. Crystal is the bestselling author of “The Chef’s Secret,” and “Feast of Sorrow,” and came to me this past fall as she had a new novel coming out in the fall of 2024, entitled, “In the Garden of Monsters.” I adore the description of the book which Crystal sent prior to the portrait sitting, “IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS, a retelling of the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone, takes place in the fall of 1949 when the artist Salvador Dalí visits one of the most unusual places in Italy, the Sacro Bosco, an abandoned Renaissance garden full of statues of mythological beings and monsters. Julia Lombardi is an artist and model who accompanies Dalí and his infamous wife, Gala, to the garden and the castle on the hill above it. There she finds Ignazio, an attractive, enigmatic man who is the host for the week that the artist and his entourage are there. Julia is immediately thrust into a world of strange happenings, hauntings, and fantastical feasts. She eventually realizes that everything that happens in the castle and the garden center around her, for she is the prize that two ancient Roman gods at war, Ceres (Demeter) and Pluto (Hades), are fighting over. Everyone else around them are merely pawns in the skirmish. When Julia discovers she is the latest in a long line of women named Julia who died in the garden because of Ceres’ ancient curse, she decides to cut the threads of fate and take destiny into her own hands.” I don’t know about you, but I was immediately drawn in upon reading the synopsis, and I wanted to create a portrait as compelling as Crystal’s latest creation, with painterly light and a luminosity that draws the viewer into her eyes.

01/13/2024

Congratulations to my client, Stephen McCauley, on his newest book!

In “You Only Call When You’re in Trouble,” the rigid rules of sexual-orientation segregation do not apply.

01/12/2024

Portrait of art historian, Dr. Jennifer Roberts, by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer. Jennifer, a Harvard professor whose scholarship focuses on the interface between the arts and the natural sciences, initially reached out to me as I’d photographed her colleague, Professor Vincent Brown. Her book, “Art and the Pull of Print,” published by Princeton University Press, was scheduled to go to press in 2024 and she was looking for an expressive book jacket portrait that conveyed the joy and enthusiasm in her intellectual life in order to support her mission of finding ways to bring folks in the arts and sciences together. It was a joy to work with Jennifer, and I hope that you will check out her latest book when it goes to press this year!

01/04/2024

Portrait of Jennifer S. Brown, author of USA Today Bestseller, “Modern Girls,” by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer. Having known Jenny previously through GrubStreet, Boston’s creative writing center, it was an extra-special treat when she reached out to me to photograph her this past fall for her upcoming book, “The Whisper Sister of Baxter Street.” This historical novel about a young Jewish immigrant who takes over a NYC speakeasy when her father is sent to jail, published by Lake Union Publishing in the fall of 2024, looks to be a must-read! Jenny’s goal for her photograph was an approachable, direct, yet relaxed portrait with a touch of environmental background to give a sense of space. Working with her was absolutely wonderful with her wit and amazing sense of humor, which comes through so beautifully in her writing!

01/04/2024

It’s a bit difficult to admit that it’s time to take off the blankets and return to work when we’ve been so bundled up and cozy over the holidays! However, I’ll be rising from my well-fed and bundled stupor to post author portraits this week from the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Literary portrait sittings also begin anew with some incredible Hugo award-winning novelists that I’m thrilled to work with (who are also pet-lovers as well). Stay tuned, and Happy New Year!

05/11/2023

Portrait of Rachel Nolan, a historian of modern Latin America and an Assistant Professor at Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies. Her research focuses on political violence, Central American civil wars, childhood and the family, historical memory, and U.S.-Latin American relations. She is currently completing a book manuscript on the history of international adoption from Guatemala (set for publication by Harvard University Press in 2024).

04/12/2023

Portraits by Sharona Jacobs, literary portrait photographer, of Holly Black, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Novels of Elfhame, THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and her adult debut, BOOK OF NIGHT. She is the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor and her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. In this portrait sitting, Holly was photographed at Hammond Castle, Gloucester, Massachusetts. MUA: Kerri Herlihy. Assistant: Tim Lavallee. Media manager: Traci Olsen.

02/15/2023

Portraits of fantasy author, Cassandra Clare, by literary portrait photographer, Sharona Jacobs. Cassandra is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices trilogy, and coauthor of the Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. She also wrote The Shadowhunter’s Codex with her husband, Joshua Lewis. Her books have more than 36 million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. For this portrait sitting, which took place in the author’s writing area, a steampunk-inspired converted barn adorned with art by local artists as well as an imported British phone booth and apothecary counter, the author was looking for elegant and fantastical portraits that were colorful and creative inspired by a dark academia look. Makeup: Hair: . Assistant: Tim LaVallee. With thanks to Belden, publicist extraordinaire, for her logistical support.