Martha Kennedy

Martha Kennedy has published four works of historical fiction. Her first novel, Martin of Gfenn, which tells the story of a young fresco painter living in 13th century Zürich, was awarded the Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society Indie Review and the BRAG Medallion from IndieBRAG in 2015 and short-listed for the Chaucer Award from Chanticleer Reviews in 2017. Savior, The Brothers Path and The Price, novels in the historical fiction trilogy, Across the World on the Wings of the Wind, are all a BRAG Medallion honoree, brings the family to America in the mid 18th century. Savior chronicles the events in the life of Rudolf von Lunkhofen who goes on Crusade in 1244 hoping to save his soul. The next novel, The Brothers Path, recounts the experience of the six Schneebeli brothers as the Protestant Reformation intersects the life of their family. The final novel, The Price, examines the decisions and conflicts that bring the family to America in 1743. Kennedy has also published two award-winning memoirs, In 2017, she published My Everest, about her experiences hiking with her dogs in the California chaparral, In 2019, As a Baby Duck Listens to Thunder about her experiences as a Foreign Expert in English in the People’s Republic of China in 1982. Kennedy has also published poetry, short-stories and articles in a variety of publications. in 2022 she was awarded third prize for poetry in Stories from the Hidden Lake, a publication of the Alamosa Public Library. She's jazzed because her dad always hoped Martha would grow up to be a poet. She has also published a chapbook of poems dedicated to her father to show she has finally grown up. Martha Kennedy has been a visual artist all her life, but over the winter of 2020/21 she launched a new "career" as an illustrator. An Alphabet of Place: The Little Snake River Valley by Sharon S. O'Toole features Martha's original ink drawings to illustrate each letter of the alphabet. After a 35 year career teaching writing at the college and university level, Martha now lives with her dogs between two high mountain ranges in the remote San Luis Valley of Colorado. Her favorite thing in the world is cross-country skiing. She has a masters degree in English from the University of Denver.