Mary Mackey

Poet, Fiction Writer

Berkeley, CA
California US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Mary Mackey is the author of 14 novels including The Village of Bones (Lowenstein Associates), and 8 collections of poetry, including The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams: New and Selected Poems 1974to 2019 , winner of the 2019  Eric Hoffer Award for Best Book Published by a Small Press;  and Sugar Zone, winner of the 2012 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award and Finalist for the Northern California Book Awards. Her poems and novels, one of which made the New York Times bestseller list, have been translated into 13 languages and have sold over a million and a half copies. Former Chair of PEN American Center, West, Mackey has also served on the Governing Board of PEN Oakland. She is a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a member of The Poetry Committee of the Northern California Book Awards, The National Book Critics Circle, The Women's National Book Association, and The Authors Guild. In Spring 2009, the San Francisco Branch of the National League of American Pen Women established the Mary Mackey Short Story Prize. To learn more about her, you can visit https://marymackey.com, find her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter @MMackeyAuthor. The Mary Mackey Papers are archived at the Sophia Smith Special Collections Library, Smith College, Northampton MA. The Mary Mackey collection of rare editions of small press American Poetry (1964-2016)is housed in the Smith College Mortimer Library Rare Book Room.

Publications & Prizes

Fiction

Anthology:
My California (Angel City Press, 2004)
Books:
The Widow's War (Berkley Books, 2009)
,
The Notorious Mrs. Winston (Berkley Books, 2007)
,
Sweet Revenge, pen name Kate Clemens (Kensington Publications, 2004)
,
The Stand In, pen name Kate Clemens (Kensington Publications, 2003)
,
The Fires of Spring (Penguin, 1998)
,
The Horses at the Gate (Harper Collins, 1996)
,
The Year the Horses Came (Harper Collins, 1993)
,
The Kindness of Strangers (Simon & Schuster, 1988)
,
The Dear Dance of Eros (Fjord Press, 1987)
,
A Grand Passion (Simon & Schuster, 1986)
,
McCarthy's List (Doubleday, 1979)
Journals:
Book Passage Press
,
Switched-On Gutenberg

Poetry

Books:
The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams: New and Selected Poems 1974 to 2019 (Marsh Hawk Press, 2018)
,
Travelers With No Ticket Home (Marsh Hawk Press, 2014)
,
Sugar Zone (Marsh Hawk Press, 2011)
,
Breaking The Fever (Marsh Hawk Press, 2006)
,
Breaking the Fever (Marsh Hawk Press, 2006)
,
Season of Shadows (Bantam Books, 1991)
,
The Last Warrior Queen (Putnam, 1983)
Prizes won: 

 

2019 Eric Hoffer Award for Best Book Published by a Small Press for The Jaguars That Prowl Our Dreams: New and Selected Poems 1974 to 2019 (Marsh Hawk Press)

2012 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Sugar Zone. Finalist for Northern California Book Awards for Sugar Zone.

Personal Favorites

What I'm reading now: 
The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Irish American
Prefers to work with: 
Teachers
Fluent in: 
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Born in: 
Indianapolis
Raised in: 
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: May 22, 2019