Jenny McPhee (born c. 1962) is an American novelist and translator. A 2020

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

, she has worked as a translator of Italian literature to English and wrote the novels '' The Center of Things'' (2001), '' No Ordinary Matter'' (2004), and '' A Man of No Moon'' (2007).

Biography

Jenny McPhee was born circa 1962 to writer

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourt ...

and photographer Pryde Brown and raised in suburban New Jersey. She attended Princeton High School, before obtaining her BA in

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. In 1984, she was granted a

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community with the motto Charity, Fello ...

Fellowship to continue her graduate studies in Scotland. Originally a translator, she began in the 1990s with Italian-English translations such as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's '' Crossing the Threshold of Hope'' (which she did alongside her sister Martha McPhee), as well as works from authors such as

Natalia Ginzburg Natalia Ginzburg (, ; ; 14 July 1916 – 7 October 1991) was an Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, f ...

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works i ...

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. Considered the greatest Italian poet of the 19th century and one of the greatest a ...

Curzio Malaparte Curzio Malaparte (; born Kurt Erich Suckert; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957) was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works '' Kaputt'' (1944) and '' The Skin'' (1949). The ...

Paolo Maurensig Paolo Maurensig (26 March 1943 – 29 May 2021) was an Italian novelist, best known for his book ''Canone inverso'' (1996), a complex tale of a violin and its owners. Biography Maurensig was born in Gorizia, northern Italy. Before becoming a no ...

, Anna Maria Ortese, and . In 2020, she was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in Translation. In 2021, she won the 2020 John Florio Prize runner-up prize for her translation of

's novel '' The Kremlin Ball''. After publishing the 2000 book ''Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits'' with her sisters Martha and Laura McPhee, she started moving into novels, with her debut being '' The Center of Things'' (2001), about a tabloid reporter and her relationship with the husband of a celebrity whose obituary she is writing. She published another novel, '' No Ordinary Matter'' (2004), about a journey of two sisters searching for answers about their late father. In 2007, she published a third novel, '' A Man of No Moon''. In education, she has also taught subjects like creative writing and translation at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and she has worked at the

New York University School of Professional Studies The New York University School of Professional Studies (SPS), previously known as the New York University School of Continuing Education, is one of the schools and colleges that compose New York University. Founded in 1934, the school offers un ...

as their Center for Applied Liberal Arts academic director. She has also served as a board member for the Bronx Academy of Letters in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

. She has two sons with her spouse, all of whom she lives with in New York City.

Works

* '' The Center of Things'' (2001) * '' No Ordinary Matter'' (2004) * '' A Man of No Moon'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Jenny 1960s births Living people Italian–English translators Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from Princeton, New Jersey Williams College alumni 20th-century American translators 21st-century American translators 21st-century American novelists Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from New York City New York University faculty