View source for Diane McKinney-Whetstone

{{short description|American novelist}}
{{COI|date=January 2011}}
{{infobox writer
|name=Diane McKinney-Whetstone
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1953|8|14}}
|occupation=Author
|nationality=American
|education=[[University of Pennsylvania]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
|spouse=Greg Whetstone
|children=2
|parents=[[Paul McKinney (politician)|Paul McKinney]]<br>Bessie Grayson
}}
'''Diane McKinney-Whetstone''' (born August 14, 1953) is an American [[author]] and is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Creative Writing program faculty.<ref>University of Pennsylvania [http://writing.upenn.edu/cw/faculty.php], accessed January 31, 2011.</ref> Her works of fiction have won numerous awards, including the BCALA Literary Award for Fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc. in 2005<ref>American Library Association [http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2005/january2005/2005bcalaaward.cfm], accessed January 31, 2011</ref> and 2009.<ref>American Library Association [http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/february2009/bcalaawards.cfm], accessed January 31, 2011.</ref>
==Biography==
McKinney-Whetstone is [[African American]]. She is the second of five daughters born to Pennsylvania State Senator [[Paul McKinney (Pennsylvania politician)|Paul McKinney]] and his wife Bessie, with an older sister from her father's previous relationship, and also an older brother and sister from her mother’s first marriage. Diane received a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in English from the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1975. She is married to Greg Whetstone and they have twins, Taiwo, a daughter and Kehinde, a son.
McKinney-Whetstone began writing when she was 39, joining the [http://rittenhousewritersgroup.com/ Rittenhouse Writer's Group], founded by University of Pennsylvania instructor James Rahn. She won a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant for a 500-page first draft. Her first novel, ''Tumbling'', was published in 1996 by [[William Morrow and Company]].
She is mentioned in:
* ''[[Booklist]]'', April 15, 1996, February 15, 1998, February 15, 2000.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* Book Quarterly, April 4–11, 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[The Detroit News]]'', June 1, 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[Essence (magazine)|Essence]]'', July 1996 November 1999, August 2000.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'', March 15, 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[Library Journal]]'', June 15, 1996, March 1, 1998, October 1, 1999, November 1, 1999.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* Penn Arts & Sciences, fall 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[The Pennsylvania Gazette]]'', May 1998.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', May 27, 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* ''[[School Library Journal]]'', October 1998.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
* Women's Review of Books, July 1996.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2011}}
==Selected works==
* ''Tumbling'', 1996
* ''Tempest Rising'', 1998
* ''Blues Dancing'', 1999
* ''Leaving Cecil Street'', 2004
* ''Trading Dreams at Midnight'', 2008
* 'Philadelphia Blues'
* ''[[Lazaretto (novel)|Lazaretto]]'', 2016
==Awards and recognition==
* [[Athenaeum Literary Award]], [[Athenaeum of Philadelphia]]<ref>Anthenaeum of Philadelphia [http://philaathenaeum.org/literary.html], accessed January 31, 2011.</ref>
* [[Pennsylvania Council on the Arts]] grant
* Finalist, Pew Fellowship in the Arts
* Zora Neale Hurston Society award for creative contribution to literature
* Citation, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
* Author of the Year Award, [[Go On Girl Book Club]]<ref>Go On Girl Book Club [http://www.goongirl.org/awards/index.php], accessed January 31, 2011.</ref>
* [[American Library Association]] Black Caucus Award for Fiction, 2005<ref>American Library Association [http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2005/january2005/2005bcalaaward.cfm], accessed January 31, 2011</ref> and 2009<ref>American Library Association [http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/february2009/bcalaawards.cfm], accessed January 31, 2011.</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121003003916/http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/8418 Interview with Diane McKinney-Whetstone] on the [[Charlie Rose]] show.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101121062321/http://www.njn.net/television/njnseries/anotherview/bookshelf/dianemckinney-whetstone.html Diane McKinney-Whetstone] on NJN Public Television's ''Another View: Bookshelf''.
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[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American women novelists]]
[[Category:African-American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:Novelists from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American women academics]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American writers]]