Jennifer Haigh
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Haigh is an American
novel
ist and short story
writer.
She was born in Barnesboro
, a Western Pennsylvania
coal town 85 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Cambria County
. She attended Dickinson College
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
and earned a Master of Fine Arts
degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop
in 2002. Her fiction has been published in Granta
, Ploughshares
, The Virginia Quarterly Review
, Good Housekeeping
, and many other publications.
Her debut novel
Mrs. Kimble
-- telling the story of a mysterious con man named Ken Kimble through the eyes of his three wives -- (2003) won the PEN/Hemingway Award for outstanding debut fiction.
Her next novel, Baker Towers (2005), depicts the rise and fall of a western Pennsylvania
coal town in the years following World War II
. It was a New York Times
bestseller and won the 2006 PEN/L.L. Winship award for best book by a New England writer.
Her third novel, The Condition, was published by HarperCollins in July, 2008. It traces the dissolution of a proper New England
family when their only daughter is diagnosed with Turner's Syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality that keeps her from going through puberty
.
Her most recent novel, Faith (2011), tells the story of a suburban Boston priest accused of molesting a boy in his parish.
Haigh lives in the Boston area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist and short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer.
She was born in Barnesboro
Barnesboro, Pennsylvania
Barnesboro, Pennsylvania was a borough located in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA. The area was first settled by Europeans in the early-to-middle 19th century. The presence of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River allowed loggers to move their harvest down stream...
, a Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
coal town 85 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Cambria County
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Cambria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 143,679....
. She attended Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
and earned a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
in 2002. Her fiction has been published in Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
, Ploughshares
Ploughshares
Ploughshares is an American literary magazine founded in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, Ploughshares has been based at Emerson College in the heart of Boston...
, The Virginia Quarterly Review
The Virginia Quarterly Review
The Virginia Quarterly Review is a literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman...
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, and many other publications.
Her debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
Mrs. Kimble
Mrs. Kimble
Mrs. Kimble is Jennifer Haigh's debut novel. Covering several decades from the 1960s to the late 1990s, it is about a man who marries three women and in turn ruins each of their lives. Accordingly, the book is about three rather than just one "Mrs. Kimble." Mrs...
-- telling the story of a mysterious con man named Ken Kimble through the eyes of his three wives -- (2003) won the PEN/Hemingway Award for outstanding debut fiction.
Her next novel, Baker Towers (2005), depicts the rise and fall of a western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
coal town in the years following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was a New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
bestseller and won the 2006 PEN/L.L. Winship award for best book by a New England writer.
Her third novel, The Condition, was published by HarperCollins in July, 2008. It traces the dissolution of a proper New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
family when their only daughter is diagnosed with Turner's Syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality that keeps her from going through puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
.
Her most recent novel, Faith (2011), tells the story of a suburban Boston priest accused of molesting a boy in his parish.
Haigh lives in the Boston area.
External links
- The Condition
- Harper Collins Official site
- Jennifer Haigh Official site
- Jennifer Haigh reads for "The Drum" Literary Magazine for your ears
- PEN.New England Official site
- "Women Trying to Find Their Way in a Dying Coal Town" from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. - "Cutaway" A short story from Natural Bridge: A Journal of Contemporary Literature (Number 8, Fall 2002).
- "A Child With a Problem, a Family With an Excuse" from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. - "Broken Star" A short story from GrantaGrantaGranta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
(Number 103, Autumn 2008). - A trailer for Faith
- "Books: Jennifer Haigh's 'Faith,' review by Ron Charles" from The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...