Author guide

Katherine Center Books in Order

Katherine Center is a New York Times bestselling author whose laugh-and-cry novels explore resilience, love, family, and finding joy after hardship. She studied creative writing at Vassar College and the University of Houston, and lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas.

romancewomen's fictioncontemporary fiction

Catalog record updated August 25, 2026.

Katherine Center's Newest Book

The Shippers

novel · First published 2026

After a lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton vows to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. Armed with pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest). Determined to woo him for closure, she ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, as her wingman. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but showed up anyway. Cooper: who moved to London without a word four years ago. Cooper: who was her greatest heartbreak. Shipboard antics abound in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, as JoJo and Cooper team up, fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, get jealous, answer long-held questions, and finally, at last, discover truths about each other that will change everything.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

The Bodyguard

A representative and accessible contemporary romantic comedy that showcases Center's later style.

Outside the series

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Novels (13)

The Bright Side of Disaster
novel · 2007

"Offers credible descriptions of first-time motherhood, affecting characters and situations and low-key charm."--Kirkus Reviews"Stellar . . . Center paints an accurate and humorous view of motherhood."--Booklist Jenny Harris always…
Everyone Is Beautiful
novel · 2009

A hugely entertaining, poignant, and charming novel about what happens after happily ever after—from the New York Timesbestselling author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire “Everyone Is Beautiful is for every woman who has…
Get Lucky
novel · 2010

How do you change your luck? A young woman chooses to look for happiness in this marvelously entertaining and poignant novel from the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire. “A hilarious and…
The Lost Husband
novel · 2013

A tender and heartwarming novel that explores the trials of losing what matters most—and how there’s always more than we can imagine left to find—from the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire…
Happiness for Beginners
novel · 2015

"A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but…
How to Walk Away
novel · 2018

From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances. Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she's worked for so hard and so long: a…
Things You Save in a Fire
novel · 2019

Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's a total pro at other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks…
What You Wish For
novel · 2020

"The story’s message, that people should choose joy even (and especially) in difficult and painful times, seems tailor-made for this moment. A timely, uplifting read about finding joy in the midst of tragedy, filled with quirky characters…
The Bodyguard
novel · 2022

She’s got his back. Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka…
Hello Stranger
novel · 2023

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed…
The Rom-Commers
novel · 2024

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs…
The Love Haters
novel · 2025

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling…
The Shippers
novel · 2026

After a lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton vows to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. Armed with pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the…

Short fiction (2)

The Girl in the Plane
short_story · 2019

A retelling of the first chapter of How To Walk Away — this time, from the point of view of Cassie Hanwell, the firefighter who saved Margaret's life... the firefighter who just happens to be the main character of Katherine Center's next…
The Guy at the Wedding
short_story · 2021

Frequently asked questions about Katherine Center

Who is Katherine Center?

Katherine Center is a New York Times bestselling American author known for hopeful, bittersweet romantic comedies and contemporary fiction about resilience, love, family, and recovery from hardship.

Sources: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)katherinecenter.com (opens in a new tab)

Where is Katherine Center from?

Center grew up in Houston, Texas, studied creative writing at Vassar College, and later attended the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program. She lives in her hometown of Houston.

Source: katherinecenter.com (opens in a new tab)

What inspired Katherine Center to become a writer?

She began writing stories in sixth grade and kept journals continuously from age twelve for about a decade. She also credits her book-loving parents, encouraging teachers, and her lifelong fascination with language and storytelling.

Sources: katherinecenter.com (opens in a new tab)images.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)

What themes and style define Katherine Center’s writing?

Center describes her work as “bittersweet comedies”: stories in which characters face serious hardship while using humor to cope. Her fiction aims to balance darkness with hope, joy, banter, and emotional resilience.

Sources: images.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)goodreads.com (opens in a new tab)

What recognition has Katherine Center received?

As a Vassar student, Center won the Vassar College Fiction Prize. Her later work has appeared on numerous best-of lists, including Goodreads’ Best Books of the Year, Amazon’s Top 100 Books of the Year, and the Library Reads Hall of Fame.

Source: katherinecenter.com (opens in a new tab)