Beth Kephart
Encyclopedia
Beth Kephart is an American author of non-fiction, poetry and young adult fiction
for adults and teens. Kephart has written and published over ten books and has received several grants and awards for her writing. She was a National Book Award
Finalist for her book "A Slant of the Sun: One Child’s Courage." She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son. She is a writing partner in the marketing communications
firm, Fusion Communications, and occasionally teaches and lectures at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kephart was first published in Iowa Woman magazine and has said she was writing poems from the time she was quite young, and that she very influenced by music, the sound of words.
Kephart is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
and was a participant at the Bread Loaf Writing Conference, Middlebury, Vermont
, with Jayne Anne Phillips; 1996 Prague Writing Conference, Czech Republic
with William Gass
and Jayne Anne Phillips; and 1995 Spoleto Writing Conference, Spoleto, Italy with Rosellen Brown and Reginald Gibbons, 1994.
Kephart is a prolific writer and reviewer and has penned reviews and essays for various publications, including:
Undercover, her first book for young adults, was named a 2007 best book of the year by Amazon.com
, Kirkus, and School Library
Journal.
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
for adults and teens. Kephart has written and published over ten books and has received several grants and awards for her writing. She was a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
Finalist for her book "A Slant of the Sun: One Child’s Courage." She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son. She is a writing partner in the marketing communications
Marketing communications
Marketing Communications are messages and related media used to communicate with a market...
firm, Fusion Communications, and occasionally teaches and lectures at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kephart was first published in Iowa Woman magazine and has said she was writing poems from the time she was quite young, and that she very influenced by music, the sound of words.
- I loved to sing. I loved to perform, with my brother and sister, to the sound tracks of The Music ManThe Music ManThe Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
or My Fair LadyMy Fair LadyMy Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
or Windjammer. I always had rhymes sliding around in my head. So that even as I got older, I would return to Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
and Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
to see how they created what they created. I would read F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
and Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and Sinclair LewisSinclair LewisHarry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
, also, to learn about how words fit together. And then, of course, there was Black Beauty." [emphasis added].
- -Beth Kephart
Kephart is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and was a participant at the Bread Loaf Writing Conference, Middlebury, Vermont
Middlebury (town), Vermont
Middlebury is a town in and the shire town of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,496 at the 2010 census. Middlebury is home to both Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.-History:...
, with Jayne Anne Phillips; 1996 Prague Writing Conference, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
with William Gass
William H. Gass
William Howard Gass is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, and former philosophy professor. He has written two novels, three collections of short stories, a collection of novellas, and seven volumes of essays, three of which have won National Book Critics Circle Award...
and Jayne Anne Phillips; and 1995 Spoleto Writing Conference, Spoleto, Italy with Rosellen Brown and Reginald Gibbons, 1994.
Kephart is a prolific writer and reviewer and has penned reviews and essays for various publications, including:
- 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...
- Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- 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...
- Book World
- Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
Europe - Philadelphia magazine
- Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
- Family CircleFamily CircleFamily Circle is an American women's magazine published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation. It began publication in 1932 as a magazine distributed at supermarkets such as Piggly Wiggly and Safeway. Cowles Magazines and Broadcasting bought the magazine in 1962. The New York Times Company bought...
- ParentingParenting (magazine)Launched in 1987 by Time Inc., Parenting is a magazine for families published in the United States. In February 2009, the magazine became two separate, age-targeted editions: Parenting Early Years, for moms of infants, toddlers and preschoolers; and Parenting School Years, for moms with kids in...
- Real SimpleReal SimpleReal Simple is a monthly women's interest magazine published by Time Inc.. Real Simple, which was launched by Time in 2000, features articles and information related to homekeeping, childcare, cooking and emotional wellbeing. Real Simple is distinguished by its clean, uncluttered style of layout...
- Reader’s Digest
- New Jersey Life
- Pennsylvania GazettePennsylvania GazetteThe Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728, before the time period of the American Revolution, until 1815...
- Main Line Today
Undercover, her first book for young adults, was named a 2007 best book of the year by Amazon.com
Amazon's Best Books of the Year
Amazon's Best Books of the Year is a list of best books created yearly by Amazon.com. It is a list of best books picked by Amazon editors and customers. It began in 2000. Customer favorites are ranked according to the number of sales made through October, for books published in that calender year...
, Kirkus, and School Library
School library
A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources...
Journal.
Honors and awards
- Speakeasy Poetry Prize (2005)
- Pew Fellowships in the Arts (2005)
- BookSense Pick (2005)
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Grant (2000) - Leeway Grant for Creative NonfictionCreative nonfictionCreative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service...
(1998) - Salon Best Book of the Year (1998)
- National Book Award, Nonfiction Finalist (1998)
- Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Top Fiction Grant (1997)
- Bread Loaf Merit Scholar for Fiction (1996)