Kitty Burns Florey

Kitty Burns Florey is a prolific author and veteran copyeditor known for her fiction and nonfiction works. She has written nine novels, numerous short stories, and essays, with her most notable nonfiction books including "Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences," a national bestseller praised for its wit and charm, and "Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting," a meditation on handwriting's evolution in the digital age. Her most recent work of fiction, "The Writing Master," is a historical novel set in 1856 New Haven, Connecticut, blending mystery with a rich depiction of 19th-century New England.

Florey's writing often explores language, history, and the intricacies of communication. Her background in English literature, with degrees from Boston University and Syracuse University, informs her meticulous style. Raised in Syracuse and educated at St. John the Baptist Academy, her parochial school experiences later influenced her nonfiction. A seasoned copyeditor, she has also contributed to The New York Times with insights on the writing process.

Currently residing in Amherst, Massachusetts, Florey is working on a sequel to "The Writing Master," further expanding her historical fiction repertoire. Her works have garnered acclaim from notable figures such as Amy Tan and Susan Cheever, cementing her reputation as a thoughtful and engaging storyteller.
The Writing Master Books
# Title Year
1 The Writing Master 2012
2 Amity Street 2016
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 Family Matters 1979
2 Chez Cordelia 1980
3 The Garden Path 1983
4 Duet 1987
5 Real Life 1987
6 Vigil for a Stranger 1995
7 Souvenir of Cold Springs 2001
8 Five Questions 2001
9 Solos 2004
10 The Sleep Specialist 2007
11 The Quest for Inez 2015
12 Love and Money 2022
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog 2006
2 Script and Scribble 2008