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BIO

Matthew Dicks is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Something MissingUnexpectedly, Milo, The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, Twenty-one Truths About Love, and The Other Mother, and the nonfiction titles Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling and Someday Is Today: 22 Simple Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life.

His novels have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was the 2014 Dolly Gray Award winner and was a finalist for the 2017 Nutmeg Award in Connecticut.

He is also the author of the rock opera The Clowns and the musicals Caught in the MiddleSticks & Stones, and Summertime. He has written comic books for Double Take comics. He is the humor columnist for Seasons magazine and a columnist for Slate magazine. He has also published for Reader's Digest, The Hartford Courant, Parents magazine, The Huffington Post, and many more.

The Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists awarded him first prize in opinion/humor writing in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019, 2020, and 2021.

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When not hunched over a computer screen, Matthew fills his days as an elementary school teacher, a storyteller, a marketing and storytelling consultant, a speaking coach, a blogger, a wedding DJ, a minister, and a Lord of Sealand. He has been teaching for 24 years and is a former West Hartford Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of the Year.

Matthew is a record 56-time Moth StorySLAM champion and 9-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast. His stories have also appeared on PBS’s Stories From the Stage.

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Matthew is also the co-founder and artistic director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization that produces shows throughout New England. He teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, universities, religious institutions, and school districts around the world.

He has most recently taught at Yale University, MIT, The University of Connecticut Law School, Harvard University, Purdue University, The Connecticut Historical Society, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Miss Porter's School, The Berkshire School, and Graded School in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Matthew’s clients have included Amazon, Slack, Johnson & Johnson, Saatchi & Saatchi, Salesforce, MetLife, Pfizer, The Freeman Companies, Rustic Pathways, and many more.

Matthew is the creator, producer, and co-host of Speak Up Storytelling, a podcast that teaches people to tell their best stories.

Matthew is also the creator and co-host of Boy vs. Girl, a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes.

Matthew is married to 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.