Amy Hill Hearth, Author

AMY HILL HEARTH is a New York Times bestselling author and Peabody Award winning writer. Her first book, HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS, is considered a classic of the oral history genre.

Ms. Hearth recently completed a new book, "STRONG MEDICINE" SPEAKS: A NATIVE AMERICAN ELDER HAS HER SAY, an oral history of an 85 year old Lenni-Lenape woman who is the mother of a Chief. Published in March 2008 by Atria/Simon & Schuster, the book is a rare look, from the inside, of contemporary Native American life.

Ms. Hearth has a female ancestor, born circa 1700, from Strong Medicine's tribe, the Lenni-Lenape, the original people of southeastern New York, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and parts of Delaware and Maryland. "I was interested in finding out more about them, and in the process, I fell in love with the people and especially, with Strong Medicine," Ms. Hearth said. "I was searching for Mary [her ancestor] and I found Strong Medicine."

Ms. Hearth has been a writer all of her life. She became known internationally in 1991 as the reporter who found the Delany Sisters, a reclusive and then-unknown pair of centenarian sisters who were the daughters of a man born into slavery. In a feature article for The New York Times, Ms. Hearth captured the sisters' voices, personalities, and unvarnished opinions. Working side-by-side with the sisters, Ms. Hearth expanded her article into a full length book, HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS, a runaway bestseller after its publication in 1993. The book, published by Kodanhsa America, was later adapted to the Broadway stage in a production that featured Gloria Foster and Mary Alice, and for an award-winning television film starring Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll, and Amy Madigan.

A New York Times best-seller for two years (105 weeks) in hardcover and paperback, HAVING OUR SAY has sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone. It has been added to the curriculum of thousands of high schools and colleges in the U.S., valued for its candid and often charming account of a slice of American life. The book has been published in seven languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and German. In the Spring of 2002, the book was the first pick for Washington, D.C.'s new citywide “D.C. Reads” project.

When the book was dramatized for the Broadway stage by Emily Mann, a playwright, Ms. Hearth was hired by the producers to work on the production as an artistic consultant whose role was to ensure the authenticity and historical accuracy of the adaptation. The play opened on Broadway in April 1995. It received many awards, inluding three Tony Award nominations.

Ms. Hearth also worked as the artistic consultant on the 1999 CBS film adaptation of the book. (Both the play and film adaptations were produced by Dr. Camille O. Cosby and Judith R. James.) Ms. Hearth's role in the movie was performed by the actress Amy Madigan (“Places in the Heart,” “Field of Dreams”). Along with the film’s director, Lynn Litman, and the producers, Ms. Hearth won a coveted Peabody Award for her work on the film.

Following the success of HAVING OUR SAY, Ms. Hearth's second and third books also were national best-sellers: THE DELANY SISTERS' BOOK OF EVERYDAY WISDOM (Kodansha America, 1994), a collaboration with both sisters, and the critically-acclaimed ON MY OWN AT 107: REFLECTIONS ON LIFE WITHOUT BESSIE (HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), a collaboration with Sadie Delany after Bessie’s death in 1995.

Ms. Hearth's fourth book, IN A WORLD GONE MAD: A HEROIC STORY OF LOVE, FAITH, AND SURVIVAL (Abingdon Press, 2001) tells the true story of a young Jewish couple who escaped the Holocaust in Poland by posing as Catholics and working for the Underground. It won an award from the New York Public Library.

Ms. Hearth published her fifth book, THE DELANY SISTERS REACH HIGH (Abingdon Press) in 2003. A children's biography, the book focuses on the childhood of the centenarian pair. Illustrated by award-winning artist Tim Ladwig, the book received national attention and acclaim.

A journalist by training, Ms. Hearth worked for The New York Times as an independent reporter from 1988 to 1992. Previously, she worked as a reporter and/or editor at newspapers in Massachusetts and Florida. Her magazine credits include Smithsonian and American Heritage. She is represented by the William Morris Agency in New York.

From early childhood, Ms. Hearth loved to write. She recently came across a box filled with diaries, letters, even a draft of a book she wrote at age 12.

A thirteenth-generation American whose ancestors fought in the American Revolution, Ms. Hearth was brought up with a passion for history. She learned early to appreciate, cherish, and listen to the stories of elders. She credits her interest in telling the stories of older women to her grandmother, who lived to be 101.

Awards:

George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in television broadcasting (1999).

An American Library Association “Notable Book of the Year” (1994)

American Booksellers Association “ABBY Honor Book” (1994)

Christopher Award for Literature (1993)

NAACP Image Award nomination for Literature (1993)

New York Public Library’s “Best Books for Young Adults” in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 2001.

Gwen and C. Dale White Award in 1995, a national award from the United Methodist Church. “For introducing the Delany Sisters to a world audience.”

The Broadway play adaptation of “Having Our Say” received three Tony Award nominations, including Best Play (1995).

The television film adaptation of “Having Our Say” earned a Christopher Award for Television and a NAACP Image Award nomination for Television (1999).