Kennedy, William, 1928-, American novelist, b. Albany, N.Y., grad. Siena College, 1949. Brought up in Albany, he worked as a journalist from 1949 to 1970, and began to concentrate on writing fiction in the early 1960s. In evocative prose, with vivid characterizations and acutely observed dialog, Kennedy's novels mingle history with myth, politics with the personal, and lyricism with squalor. His work is inextricably bound up with his hometown, which has provided rich subject matter for most of his fiction, including his best-known novel, Ironweed (1983; National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1987), the tale of an alcoholic former major-league pitcher who ekes out an existence in the city's skid-row district in the 1930s. Kennedy's other Albany cycle novels are The Ink Truck (1969), Legs (1975), Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (1978), Quinn's Book (1988), The Flaming Corsage (1996), and Roscoe (2001). He has also written other novels, essays, some of which were collected in O Albany! (1983) and Riding the Yellow Trolley Car (1993), as well as a play, screenplays, and children's books. Kennedy has taught at the State Univ. of New York at Albany since 1973.

(born Jan. 16, 1928, Albany, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. novelist and journalist. He worked as a journalist in New York and Puerto Rico before returning in 1963 to his native Albany, N.Y., which he considered the source of his literary inspiration. His novels, which are set in Albany and contain elements of local history and the supernatural, include The Ink Truck (1969), Legs (1975), Billy Phelan's Greatest Game (1978), and Ironweed (1983, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1987).

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William Kennedy may refer to:

• William Nassau Kennedy (1839–1885), second Mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
• William J. Kennedy (born 1928), American Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ironweed
• William Kennedy (politician) (1768–1834), U.S. Congressmand from North Carolina
• William Kennedy (captain) (1814–1890), Canadian captain and explorer.
• William Hew Clark-Kennedy (1879–1961), Canadian serviceman and recipient of the Victoria Cross
• William Kennedy (Connecticut) (1768–1834), United States congressman from Connecticut
• William Kennedy III, president and CEO of the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company until 1990.
• William Costello Kennedy (1868–1923), Canadian businessman and politician

See also

• Bill Kennedy (disambiguation)
• Billy Kennedy (disambiguation)