William Kennedy (author)

For other people named William Kennedy, see William Kennedy (disambiguation).

William Kennedy
BornWilliam Joseph Kennedy
(1928-01-16) January 16, 1928 (age 96)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Author
  • journalist
  • historian
EducationSiena College (BA)
Period1955–present
GenreFiction, History, Supernatural
Notable worksLegs, Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, Ironweed
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Fiction (1984)
Spouse
Dana Segarra
​
​
(m. 1957; died 2023)​
Children3

William Joseph Kennedy (born January 16, 1928) is an American writer and journalist who won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for his 1983 novel Ironweed.

Kennedy's other works include The Ink Truck (1969), Legs (1975), Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (1978), Roscoe (2002) and Changó's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes (2011). Many of his novels have featured the interactions of members of the fictional Irish-American Phelan family in Albany, New York.[1][2][3]

Kennedy has also published a non-fiction book entitled O Albany!: Improbable City of Political Wizards, Fearless Ethnics, Spectacular Aristocrats, Splendid Nobodies, and Underrated Scoundrels (1983).

  1. ^ Haven, Cynthia (June 8, 2020). ""At the Mercy of My Passions and Opinions": A Conversation with William Kennedy". Los Angeles Review of Books.
  2. ^ Rubin, Merle (May 12, 1992). "More on the Frayed Phelan Family". Christian Science Monitor.
  3. ^ "William Kennedy". www.albany.edu.