Mary Beth Keane is an American writer of Irish parentage. She is the author of ''The Walking People'' (2009)'','' ''Fever'' (2013)'','' ''Ask Again, Yes'' (2019), and ''The Half Moon'' (2023). In 2011 she was named one of the National Book Foundation's "5 under 35," and in 2015 she was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

for Fiction.

Personal life

Born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and raised in

Pearl River, New York Pearl River is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is east of Chestnut Ridge, New York, ...

with her sisters, Keane attended

Immaculate Heart Academy Immaculate Heart Academy (IHA) is an all-girls college preparatory private Roman Catholic high school located in Washington Township, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school colors are blue and white, and the school's athletes ...

in Washington Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Keane graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, with a B.A. in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

in 1999. She later attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, where she earned her M.F.A. in Fiction in 2005. Raised Catholic, Keane wrote an essay for ''Vogue'' Magazine in 2018, about her decision to leave the Catholic Church. Keane lives outside New York City with her husband and their two sons, Owen and Emmett.

Career

In 2001, Keane was hired as a receptionist at a New York literary agency, where she met her agent. Her writing has appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', '' The Antioch Review'', ''New York Stories'', ''The Recorder'', and ''The Baltimore Review.'' Keane's first novel, ''The Walking People'', published in 2009, chronicles the life of two sisters who leave their small Irish village for New York. Her second novel, ''Fever'', a fictional retelling of the life of

Typhoid Mary Mary Mallon (September 23, 1869 – November 11, 1938), commonly known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish Americans, Irish-born American cook believed to have infected between 51 and 122 people with typhoid fever. The infections caused three co ...

, was listed as one of the New York Times Editor's Choice novels in March 2013. Her third novel, ''Ask Again, Yes'
debuted at No. 5 on The New York Times Best Sellers list
in June 2019. Additionally, in 2019 Keane won the Tonight Show Summer Reads contest, and in August she appeared on The Tonight Show with

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

to discuss the book.

Influences

Keane has named William Trevor,

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

, Alice Munro,

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

, and

Elizabeth Strout Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth s ...

among the authors who have influenced her writing. She has said her Irish heritage influences the characters she chooses to write.

Awards

In 2010'', The Walking People'' was a runner-up for the Pen/Hemingway award. ''Ask Again, Yes'' was selected as The Tonight Show Summer Reads choice for 2019 after five days of audience voting that garnered nearly a million votes. Keane won the NAIBA 2019 Award for Best Fiction, and she was a finalist for the 2019 Goodread's Choice Award Best Fiction.

Works

* ''The Walking People'' (2009) * ''Fever'' (2013) * ''Ask Again, Yes'' (2019) * ''The Half Moon'' (2023)

References

External links

Book review on NPRSelection for ''Tonight Show'' as "Summer Read 2019"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Mary Beth 1977 births Living people Writers from the Bronx American people of Irish descent Immaculate Heart Academy alumni People from Pearl River, New York University of Virginia alumni Barnard College alumni The New York Times journalists Chicago Tribune people American women non-fiction writers