Catherine Arthelia Kidwell (January 14, 1921 – February 17, 2002) was an American novelist who began her career in writing late in her life, and was best known for her semi-autobiographical novel Dear Stranger.

Born(1921-01-14)January 14, 1921
Lowry City, Missouri
DiedFebruary 17, 2002(2002-02-17) (aged 81)
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
Period1979–1986

Born in Lowry City, Missouri,[1] Kidwell enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1969, together with her daughter Jane. She culminated her studies with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1977 at the age of 56. Her thesis, The Woman I Am, was published as a Dell paperback. Kidwell then developed the story further and turned it into the novel Dear Stranger,[2] which Warner Books published in February 1983[3] and was chosen as a Literary Guild selection.[2]

She continued to write and to teach writing at Southeast Community College in Lincoln; she died at the age of 81, after a struggle with Parkinson's disease.[1]

Bibliography

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  • The Woman I Am (1979)
  • Dear Stranger (1982)
  • "I Couldn't Put It Down": How to Write Quality Fiction in Ten Easy Lessons (1986)

References

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  1. ^ a b "A Profile of Nebraska Writer Catherine Kidwell" Archived 2012-12-14 at archive.today, Nebraska Center for Writers at Creighton University (accessed 2012-01-24).
  2. ^ a b Hazel Geissler, "'Dear Stranger' began as a master's thesis", St. Petersburg Evening Independent, February 24, 1983, p. 3-B.
  3. ^ Edwin McDowell, "When to Market a Book", The New York Times, March 4, 1983.