Bestselling Novelist Barbara Kingsolver Birthed a Baby and Her First Book — At the Same Time

Mar. 15, 2025

Barbara Kingsolver.Photo:David Levenson/Getty

David Levenson/Getty

Barbara Kingsolveris looking back on personal and professional milestones in her life, including one unlikely combination of events!The acclaimed author, 69, appeared onElin Hilderbrandand Tim Ehrenberg’s podcastBooks, Beach, & Beyondon Oct. 1, where she spoke about the origins of her 1988 debut novel,The Bean Trees.

The Bean Treesfollows Taylor Greer, a half-Cherokee Kentucky native who inherits a Native American girl called Turtle, per the book’s synopsis. The two embark on a journey to begin a new life in the American West.

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Kingsolver then went to the hospital and gave birth to her daughter. When she returned home, more good new was awaiting her.

“My answering machine was blinking, and the message said, ‘Your book is going to be published,” Kingsolver said, adding, “I became a mother and a novelist on the same day.”

Kingsolver, who now holds accolades such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Humanities Medal, told Hilderbrand and Ehrenberg that she was initially unsure about becoming a writer. She grew up in Kentucky and studied biology at Indiana’s DePauw University before attending graduate school at the University of Arizona.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!“I was always writing since I was a little girl,” the author said. “I always wrote poems and stories and kept a journal and all that, but it was very private. But at this time in college, even though I was a science major, I was writing stories and poems more seriously, and I was writing from this fake persona that I was trying to invent.”

Barbara Kingsolver in March 2024.Horst Galuschka/picture alliance via Getty

Horst Galuschka/picture alliance via Getty

“I just understood for the first time that if I wanted to write anything good, it would have to come from a real place, the place that I really inhabit in the universe, which involves where I came from,” she said.

Kingsolver is the author of 18 works of fiction, including 2022’sDemon Copperhead, as well as nonfiction and poetry books. She and her daughter, Lily, co-authored the 2023 children’s bookCoyote’s Wild Home.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.On Sept. 5, it was announced that Kingsolver will be awarded the 2024 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Kingsolver will accept the award at the 75th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on Nov. 20 in New York City.“Spanning genres, Barbara Kingsolver’s exceptional writing and authenticity, on and off of the page, has inspired generations of writers and readers,” said National Book Foundation Chair of the Board of Directors David Steinberger in a statement.

“Kingsolver’s books — which have been translated into dozens of languages — have had a vast impact on the national and global literary landscape, and it is our profound honor to present her with this lifetime achievement award at the 75th anniversary of the National Book Awards.”

source: people.com