About the Author
Christine Kenneally is an award-winning journalist and author who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate, Time, New Scientist, Scientific American, The Monthly, and other publications. Her recent book, The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures, was one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2014, winner of the Bragg UNSW Prize for Science Writing, shortlisted for the 2015 Stella Prize and the 2015 Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards, and appeared on many “best of” lists. Her first book, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
Before becoming a reporter, Kenneally received a Ph.D. in linguistics from Cambridge University and a B.A. (Hons) in English and Linguistics from Melbourne University. She was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and has lived in England, Iowa, and Brooklyn, New York. She was a senior contributor at BuzzFeed News for 4 years, working on an American orphanage story. Published in August 2018, the story was viewed more than six million times in six months. It won a Deadline Award and was a finalist for a National Magazine Award, a Michael Kelly Award and an Online Journalism Award. It was shortlisted for the Fetisov Prize. The book, ‘Ghosts of the Orphanage,’ expands the story told in the article. It’s due out March 15, 2023, from Hachette, Australia, and March 21, 2023, from Public Affairs, NY.
For all book news and other writing, please sign up for the Unnatural History newsletter at christinekenneally.substack.com
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Harrowing book exposes a horrific secret that was ‘too big to be told before’
"Ghosts of the Orphanage is Christine Kenneally’s harrowing exploration of institutional child abuse centred on a former Catholic orphanage… It is a measure of her nous as a journalist, as well as her patience and persistence, that she uncovered as much information...
A BuzzFeed writer exposed abuse at a Vermont Orphanage
"Journalist Christine Kenneally sparked worldwide headlines in 2018 when her BuzzFeed exposé about a history of abuse at Burlington’s now-closed St. Joseph’s Orphanage spurred local and state authorities to launch a review that confirmed misconduct, if not the story’s...
Review: ‘Ghosts of the Orphanage’, by Christine Kenneally
"The stories from St. Joseph's were so appalling that it was difficult for authorities — and for Kenneally, at first — to believe them. Surely the 50-year-old memories were flawed? Surely the children had imagined these things? But over 10 years of reporting,...
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