Kennedy, William, 1928-....

William, Kennedy, born 1928 in Albany, New York, is an award winning author and journalist. He is best known for his "Albany Cycle" of eight novels, one of which (Ironweed) received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1984. Following his childhood and then college in the Albany area, Kennedy began his professional literary career as a journalist at a local newspaper, followed by an army newspaper in Europe, the Albany Times-Union, and later was managing editor of the San Juan Star. He left his editorial position to focus on a full-time career as a writer and returned to Albany. Kennedy initially published articles in the Times-Union about the city that garnered him a Pulitzer Prize nomination and were later the inspiration for his nonfiction work O Albany! (1983), and then released his first novel The Ink Truck (1969). Beginning in 1975 with his novel Legs, Kennedy introduced his "Albany Cycle" of fiction, books that center upon the state capital and frequently focus on the struggles of the Phelan family. To date he published seven additional novels in this series. Kennedy also co-authored two children's books with his son Brendan, and his first play, Grand View (1996) appear in Albany. Kennedy also garnered attention with screenplay writing. He co-wrote The Cotton Club (1984) with the movie's director Francis Ford Coppola. He also penned the film version of his novel Ironweed (1987). Kennedy is the founder and executive director of the University at Albany-based New York State Writers Institute. He joined the University at Albany's English Department in 1974, teaching creative writing and journalism, and now serves as a professor. In addition to his Pulitzer Prize, Kennedy also received many other awards and accolades including a National Book Circle Critics Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.