View source for Bethany Ball

{{Short description|American fiction writer}}
{{infobox writer
|name=Bethany Ball
|birth_place=[[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
|occupation={{flatlist|
*Novelist
*short story writer
}}
|nationality=American
|education=[[Ferndale High School (Michigan)|Ferndale High School]]<br>[[Eastern Michigan University]]<br>[[Sarah Lawrence College]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
|genre=[[Fiction]]
|website={{url|https://thebethanyball.com/}}
}}
'''Bethany Ball''' is an American novelist and short story writer. She is the author of ''What to Do About the Solomons'' and ''The Pessimists'', both published by [[Grove Atlantic]].
==Biography==
Bethany Ball was born in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]] and attended Grant Elementary School in [[Royal Oak Charter Township, Michigan|Royal Oak Township]]. She attended [[Ferndale High School (Michigan)|Ferndale High School]] and graduated from [[Eastern Michigan University]]. Her father, Robert S. Ball, Jr was a reporter for the ''Royal Oak Daily Tribune'' and her grandfather was the Washington correspondent for ''[[The Detroit News]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2021/10/16/the-pessimists-novel-bethany-ball/6050319001/|title=Metro Detroit native's new novel 'The Pessimists' considered fall must-read|first=Julie|last=Hinds|website=Detroit Free Press}}</ref>
She has lived in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], [[New Jersey]], [[Miami]], and [[Israel]], and is currently based in [[New York (state)|New York]] with her family.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/review-of-what-to-do-about-the-solomons-by-bethany-ball/|title=Review of 'What to Do About the Solomons' by Bethany Ball &#124; Ellis Shuman &#124; The Blogs}}</ref> Upon moving to [[New York City]], she worked as an editorial assistant in book publishing for a very low wage, an experience she wrote about in ''[[Electric Literature]]''.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://electricliterature.com/i-never-made-a-living-wage-when-i-worked-in-publishing/|title=I Never Made a Living Wage When I Worked in Publishing|first=Intern Electric|last=Lit|date=March 7, 2023|website=Electric Literature}}</ref> She received a [[Master of Fine Arts]] from [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/alumni/news/2017-08-30-bethany-ball-mfa-13.html|title=Bethany Ball MFA '13|website=www.sarahlawrence.edu}}</ref>
==Writing==
Ball's debut novel, ''What to Do About the Solomons'', was published by Grove Atlantic in 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/what-to-do-about-the-solomons/|title=What to Do About the Solomons}}</ref> and was a finalist for both the [[Center for Fiction First Novel Prize]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centerforfiction.org/book-recs/2017-first-novel-prize|title=2017 First Novel Prize|website=The Center for Fiction}}</ref> and the [[National Jewish Book Award]]'s [[Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction|Goldberg Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners|title=Past Winners &#124; Jewish Book Council|website=www.jewishbookcouncil.org}}</ref> Writing about the novel for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Alana Newhouse]] says, "On its face, this book is a wry, dark multigenerational tale about the Israeli and American branches of an extended family. Like any Jewish story worth the salt that Lot's wife became, it's admirably and quite beautifully rooted in 20th-century history — and yet, at the same time, it largely steers clear of the politics that, from one angle or another, drag down so many contemporary novels."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/books/review/what-to-do-about-the-solomons-bethany-ball.html | title=A Debut Novel Follows a Financial Scandal to a Gossipy Kibbutz | work=The New York Times | date=10 April 2017 | last1=Newhouse | first1=Alana }}</ref>
Author [[Judy Blume]] called the book "funny, sexy, and smart".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/books/summer-reading-recommendations-from-6-novelists-who-own-bookstores.html | title=Summer Reading Recommendations, from 6 Novelists Who Own Bookstores | work=The New York Times | date=25 May 2017 | last1=Alter | first1=Alexandra }}</ref>
Her second novel, ''The Pessimists'', was published by Grove in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-pessimists/|title=The Pessimists}}</ref> In a review for ''The New York Times'', Molly Young describes the novel as "a delectably numbed-out tale of three couples in a wealthy Connecticut suburb who face the possible destruction of their marriages, bodies, minds and the earth."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/books/review-pessimists-bethany-ball.html | title=Three Married Couples and a Cryptic Headmistress Fuel the Suburban Satire of 'The Pessimists' | work=The New York Times | date=5 October 2021 | last1=Young | first1=Molly }}</ref> In her review of the novel for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Bethanne Patrick notes, "We're often told to keep our friends close and our enemies closer. Ball reminds us that sometimes we mistake one for the other, and that one of the most important parts of parenting is helping children discern the difference."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Patrick |first=Bethanne |date=2021-11-09 |title=Review {{!}} In ‘The Pessimists,’ privilege collides with desperation |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/pessimists-bethany-ball-book-review/2021/11/09/57da16b8-4148-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html |access-date=2023-12-14 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
Ball's fiction and essays have appeared in publications such as [[Zyzzyva (magazine)|''Zyzzyva'']],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zyzzyva.org/tag/bethany-ball/|title=bethany ball Archives|date=January 25, 2023|website=ZYZZYVA}}</ref> ''[[The Sewanee Review]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thesewaneereview.com/articles/harmonica|title=The Harmonica|website=The Sewanee Review}}</ref> [[The Common (magazine)|''The Common'']],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecommononline.org/guy-gever-stands-in-a-field/|title=Guy Gever Stands in a Field|date=April 20, 2017}}</ref> ''[[Electric Literature]]'',<ref name="auto"/> and ''[[American Literary Review]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanliteraryreview.com/2018/12/05/bethany-ball-the-housewife/|title=Bethany Ball - The Housewife|date=December 5, 2018|website=American Literary Review}}</ref>
==Awards==
*Finalist, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centerforfiction.org/book-recs/2017-first-novel-prize|title=2017 First Novel Prize|website=The Center for Fiction}}</ref>
*Finalist, National Jewish Book Award's Goldberg Prize, Jewish Book Council (2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners|title=Past Winners &#124; Jewish Book Council|website=www.jewishbookcouncil.org}}</ref>
==Publications==
*''The Pessimists'' (2021) {{ISBN|978-0802158888}}
*''What to Do About the Solomons'' (2017) {{ISBN|978-0802124579}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://thebethanyball.com/about/ Author website]
*[https://www.identitytheory.com/interview-bethany-ball-pessimists/ Interview in ''Identity Theory'']
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Bethany}}
[[Category:Eastern Michigan University alumni]]
[[Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Detroit]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]