Jennifer Haigh is a highly acclaimed literary fiction author, best known for her works that explore complex social issues. She was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and grew up in densely populated areas as well as in mining towns, which would later become the settings for many of her stories. Haigh is a graduate of Dickinson College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and her work has been published in eighteen languages.
Haigh first gained recognition in the literary world when her debut novel, Mrs. Kimble, won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. This novel marked the beginning of Haigh's writing career, which has since produced several critically acclaimed works, including her Bakerton trilogy. The trilogy includes Baker Towers, which won the PEN/L.L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author; News from Heaven, which won the Massachusetts Book Award and the PEN/New England Award in Fiction; and Heat and Light, a Best Book of 2016 as selected by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR.
In addition to the Bakerton trilogy, Haigh has written several standalone novels that delve into various social issues. The Condition tells the story of a girl growing up with Turner's Syndrome, while Faith explores the effects of the clergy sex abuse scandal on a local priest and his family. Her latest novel, Mercy Street, is an intimate look at a woman's clinic on the front lines of the abortion wars, which was honored with the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award in 2023. Haigh is also a frequent contributor to The New York Times Book Review, further solidifying her status as a prominent figure in contemporary American literature.