Kathleen Barber is an American writer and non-practicing lawyer. Television rights to her 2017

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often 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 p ...

''Are You Sleeping'' were sold to Hello Sunshine, and a series called "Truth Be Told", based on the book, was produced for ''

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

'' and debuted in December 2019. Barber was raised in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

. She earned a Bachelor's degree at

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, where she was initiated into

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, making it the youngest member ...

, and her J.D. at the

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law s ...

. She worked for a number of years as an attorney in firms in Chicago and New York, where she focused her practice on bankruptcy law. Barber describes how she had been writing, as a hobby, for years, but the decision she and her husband made to quit their jobs, and travel around the world, triggered her completion of ''Are You Sleeping''. Barber said that she was inspired by the

Serial podcast Serial may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media The presentation of works in sequential segments * Serial (literature), serialised literature in print * Serial (publishing), periodical publications and newspapers * Serial (radio and televisio ...

. Her novel focuses around a podcast host, whose investigations turns up evidence of a wrongful conviction. The ''

Galesburg Register-Mail ''The Register-Mail'' is an American daily newspaper published in Galesburg, Illinois. The paper was owned by the Pritchard family from 1896 to 1989, when it was sold to the '' Journal Star''. Copley Press bought both papers for $174.5 million. In ...

'' reported Barber's upcoming followup novel, ''Follow Me'', will also be a mystery, revolving around social media. It is scheduled to be published on February 25, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Kathleen American lawyers 21st-century American novelists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Novelists from Illinois People from Galesburg, Illinois Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Place of birth missing (living people) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni