Douglas Kennedy American novelist and travel writer Country: USA

Biography of Douglas Kennedy

Douglas Kennedy, an American novelist and travel writer, was born in 1955 in Manhattan, New York. He is the son of a stockbroker and a production assistant at NBC. Kennedy attended the Collegiate School, an independent school for boys, and graduated with distinction from Bowdoin College in 1976. He also spent a year studying at Trinity College Dublin, where he focused on history.

Kennedy believes that studying history provides a better foundation for a novelist. His works often involve observations and analyses of human actions, emphasizing the repetitive nature of human folly. In 1977, Kennedy returned to Dublin and co-founded a private theater company. He later worked as the director of the second stage at the Abbey Theatre, called "The Peacock". However, at the age of 28, Kennedy decided to leave the theater industry and dedicate himself fully to writing.

After writing several radio plays for the BBC and a stage production, Kennedy published his first book, "Beyond the Pyramids," in 1988. The book recounted his travels in Egypt. A year later, Kennedy and his wife moved to London, where he expanded his journalistic work and became a contributor for various newspapers and magazines, including "The Sunday Times," "The New Statesman," and "The Sunday Telegraph."

Kennedy's works have been translated into 22 languages, and he has published ten novels. His most recent novel, "The Moment," was published in paperback with the support of Atria, a division of Simon & Schuster, in November 2011. It quickly became a bestseller in France, along with his earlier work, "Leaving the World". Kennedy's novel "Dead Heart" was adapted into the musical film "Welcome to Woop Woop" in 1997.

"The Big Picture," another of his novels, explores human nature and tells the story of a man from Connecticut who pushes himself to commit a reckless act. This novel was adapted into the French drama film "The Big Picture" in 2010, starring Romain Duris and Catherine Deneuve. Kennedy's novel "The Woman in the Fifth" revolves around a troubled professor who falls in love with a mysterious widow who is not what she seems. This story was turned into the French thriller film "The Woman in the Fifth" in 2011, featuring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas.

In recognition of his contributions to literature, Kennedy was awarded the Chevalier De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2007. In November 2009, he received the first "Grand Prix du Figaro," an award presented by the newspaper "Le Figaro".