Katherine Heiny

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Katherine Heiny is an American author whose works include the novels Early Morning Riser, Standard Deviation, and Single, Carefree, Mellow. [1] Her short fiction has been featured in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Narrative Magazine and The Atlantic. [2] She was acclaimed as a literary prodigy and was featured in an anthology alongside writers Alice Munro, Raymond Carver, and Ann Beattie [3]

Contents

Biography

She is the youngest of three siblings and spent her childhood in Midland, Michigan. [4] Her father worked as a chemical engineer and her mother as a chemist. [5] Following her completion of an English degree at the University of Kansas [6] ,she applied to the University of Iowa's master of fine arts program. However, she was rejected, which was made worse by an error in the university's computer system. [3] She was accepted into Columbia University's program, where she received master's degrees in both poetry and fiction. [7]

Career

In 1992, She began her literary career publishing a short story How to Give the Wrong Impression, in The New Yorker . [8] She was praised for her work and published in an anthology alongside notable authors, but then disappeared from the literary scene to focus on writing young adult novels under the Pseudonym Katherine Applegate. [9] After spending much of her time between London and Washington, Heiny returned to writing at the age of 47, and published her first story collection Single, Carefree, Mellow under her real name. [10] Heiny published her novel Standard Deviation in 2017 and followup with Early Morning Riser in 2021. [11] Her fiction has been compared to a mix of Cheever and Ephron, with stories of suburban despair. [12] In 2023, she published "Games and Rituals", her second short story collection, it contains 15 stories that explore themes such as love, family, relationships, and identity. [13]

Style and themes

Heiny's writing style is characterized by her ability to take characters' idiosyncrasies and make them relatable, as well as her skill in using specific details to create universality. [4] In addition, her works often explore themes of relationships, marriage, family, and the challenges of everyday life. [3]

See also

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References

  1. Patrick, Bethanne. "Katherine Heiny's 'Early Morning Riser' may be the funniest novel of the year". The Washington Post .
  2. Fassler, Joe (10 February 2015). "With Writing, Opportunity Comes From Small Moments". The Atlantic .
  3. 1 2 3 Alter, Alexandra (1 February 2015). "From Early Triumph, to Toil, to Vindication". The New York Times .
  4. 1 2 Allardice, Lisa (7 April 2023). "Katherine Heiny: 'Writing about sex and relationships ends up being about infidelity'". The Guardian .
  5. Angelini, Francesca. "Standard Deviation author Katherine Heiny is back with a new novel". The Times .
  6. House, Niky (16 February 2015). "Former Midlander Katherine Heiny has collection of stories published in book 'Single, Carefree, Mellow'". Midland Daily News .
  7. Kott, Lidia Jean (2 April 2015). "No More Pseudonymous YA Novels: How Katherine Heiny Returned With a Dazzling Collection of Short Stories". Washington City Paper .
  8. McCauley, Mary Carole. "Novelist Katherine Heiny spent much of her life abroad with her husband, a former British spy. Now, the couple call Havre de Grace home". Baltimore Sun .
  9. Liu, Max (30 April 2021). "Katherine Heiny: 'Bridget Jones's Diary showed me you could write a funny, poignant, novel'". i (newspaper) .
  10. Kenin, Justin. "The Long Road To 'Single, Carefree, Mellow'". National Public Radio .
  11. Schultz, Connie (13 April 2021). "Katherine Heiny Shows Readers How to Pay Attention to the Little Things". The New York Times .
  12. Billen, Andrew. "Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny review — this is the feelgood author I give to the people I love". The Times .
  13. Anderson, Hephzibah (9 April 2023). "In brief: Games and Rituals; Friendaholic; The Women Who Saved the English Countryside – reviews". The Observer .