Jean McDonough has a BFA in photography from the Cleveland Institute of Art, an MFA in poetry writing from the University of Michigan, and an elementary teaching license from Eastern Michigan University. In addition to working in commercial photography, McDonough has taught middle school art and language arts, and currently works as a school librarian. Excerpts from her book Picasso's Door have been published in journals such as Colorado Review, Redivider, New Orleans Review, and Reed Magazine. Her writing about Picasso's Guernica has also received recognition, including finalist for Ruminate’s 2022 VanderMey Nonfiction Prize; notable in The Best American Essays, 2023; selection in The Best of Delmarva Review, 2024; finalist for CutBank's Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction, 2025; finalist for Washington Square Review’s New Voices Award in Nonfiction, 2026; and four Pushcart Prize nominations. Picasso’s Door is the winner of The Journal's Non/Fiction Collection Prize, and will be published by The Ohio State University Press in September 2027.
