Barbara Kingsolver is an American poet, novelist, and social activist. Her best-selling book, “The Poisonwood Bible,” was based on a true story. She wrote a lot and has been writing since she was eight years old, when she kept a journal. After getting a pretty average education, she went to graduate school for science and kept writing short stories and essays as a hobby. She worked as a science writer for the university’s journal and did freelance work for a local newspaper. But after she won a short story contest in a Phoenix newspaper, she really showed how smart she was as a writer by writing fiction. Since then, she has written many great works of fiction, and her essays, short stories, and poems have also done well. She mostly writes historical fiction, but because she has a strong science background, many of her books also have a lot of scientific information. Her books have done well in the market and with critics. This is partly because she uses both her writing and her life to support causes she cares about, like social justice and the environment. Her books have been translated into a dozen different languages, and many people have become fans of hers over the years. Her books continue to move, teach, and entertain readers, and she continues to be praised for her flawless and excellent writing.
Childhood and Adolescence
She was born on April 8, 1955, in Annapolis, Maryland, to physician Wendell R. Kingsolver and his homemaker wife, Virginia. She spent the majority of her childhood in rural eastern Kentucky.
Her family moved to Congo Léopoldville when she was seven years old (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Her parents worked in public health and used to live without running water or electricity.
She received a musical scholarship to DePauw University in Indiana after graduating from high school, but she eventually switched to science. In college, she became active in social activism and protested the Vietnam War. She earned a bachelor’s degree in science with a major in biology from college in 1977.
She spent a year in France after graduation before settling in Arizona. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology in 1980.
Barbara Kingsolver’s Career
She tried a variety of vocations at first, including copy editor, archaeologist, x-ray technician, housekeeper, biological researcher, and medical document translation.
Her writing career began after she began working as a science writer for the University of Arizona’s newspaper. She also contributed freelance feature writing to the local alternative weekly, the ‘Tucson Weekly.’
She worked as a freelance writer from 1985 to 1987. ‘The Bean Trees,’ her debut fiction novel, was released in 1988 and gained critical and commercial acclaim.
‘Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983,’ a non-fiction piece she wrote in 1989. Her short story collection ‘Homeland and Other Stories (1989) was followed by the novels Animal Dreams’ (1990) and ‘Pigs in Heaven’ (1991). (1993).
‘Another America/Otra America’ was her first collection of poems, published in 1992. In 1995, she released her best-selling book, ‘High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now and Never.’
Her novel ‘Prodigal Summer (2000), an essay collection titled ‘Small Wonder: Essays’ (2002), and another book titled ‘Last Stand: America’s Virgin Lands’ were among her other literary works (2002).
‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle’ was her second nonfiction book, published in 2007. ‘The Lacuna,’ her critically acclaimed novel, was published in 2009.
‘Flight Behavior,’ her seventh novel, was a New York Times Bestseller in 2012.
Her Major Projects
‘The Poisonwood Bible,’ a fiction about an Evangelical Christian family on a mission in Africa, was released in 1998 to critical acclaim. Her best-known work is the novel, which became a best-seller.
Achievements and Awards
Her alma institution, DePauw University, awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1994.
For her best-selling work “The Poisonwood Bible,” she received the South African National Book Prize (1998). For the novel, she was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award.
President Bill Clinton’ presented her with the ‘National Humanities Medal’ in 2000.
For her work ‘The Lacuna,’ she won the ‘Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010.
Richard C. Holbrooke’s Distinguished Achievement Award was given to her in 2011.
She won the Library of Virginia’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 for her significant contributions to literature as a Virginian.
She has also won the James Beard Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Edward Abbey Eco-Fiction Award, the Physicians for Social Responsibility National Award, and the Arizona Civil Liberties Union Award, among others.
Personal History and Legacy
She married Joe Hoffman, a chemistry professor at the University of Arizona, in 1985, and Camille was born in 1987. In 1993, the couple divorced.
She married ornithologist Steven Hopp in 1994. In 1996, they welcomed their first child, Lily.
She founded the ‘Bellwether Prize for Fiction’ in 2000 to recognize exceptional writers whose unpublished works encourage constructive societal change. The prize includes a guarantee of prominent publication as well as a financial prize of US $25,000, which she will fully fund.
Estimated Net worth
Barbara Kingsolver is one of the most successful authors and is on the list of the most popular authors. Based on what we found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Barbara Kingsolver has a net worth of about $9 million.