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Jenny McPhee

b. 1962

American translator

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About Jenny McPhee

Born 1962. Jenny McPhee is an American translator, academic administrator, university teacher and writer.

Jenny McPhee (born c. 1962) is an American novelist and translator. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, she has worked as a translator of Italian literature to English and wrote the novels The Center of Things, No Ordinary Matter (2004), and A Man of No Moon (2007).

Biography Jenny McPhee was born circa 1962 to writer John McPhee and photographer Pryde Brown and raised in suburban New Jersey. She attended Princeton High School, before obtaining her BA in Williams College. In 1984, she was granted a Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York Fellowship to continue her graduate studies in Scotland.

Originally a translator, she began in the 1990s with Italian-English translations such as Pope John Paul II's Crossing the Threshold of Hope (which she did alongside her sister Martha McPhee), as well as works from authors such as Natalia Ginzburg, Primo Levi, Giacomo Leopardi, Curzio Malaparte, Paolo Maurensig, Anna Maria Ortese, and . In 2021, she won the 2020 John Florio Prize runner-up prize for her translation of Curzio Malaparte's novel The Kremlin Ball.

After publishing the 2000 book Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits with her sisters Martha and Laura McPhee, she started moving into novels, with her debut being The Center of Things (2001), about a tabloid reporter and her relationship with the husband of a celebrity whose obituary she is writing.

She has two sons with her spouse,

Works The Center of Things (2001) No Ordinary Matter (2004) A Man of No Moon (2007)

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Important facts

Born
1962
Birth century
Nationality
Employers
New York University
Awards
Guggenheim Fellowship

People in Jenny McPhee's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jenny McPhee's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jenny McPhee?

American translator

When was Jenny McPhee born?

Jenny McPhee was born in 1962.

What is Jenny McPhee's occupation?

Jenny McPhee is a translator, academic administrator, university teacher and writer.

What nationality is Jenny McPhee?

Jenny McPhee is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jenny McPhee

· Wikidata: Q107453426

· DBpedia: Jenny McPhee

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jenny McPhee. https://biography.guide/jenny-mcphee/

MLA: "Jenny McPhee." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jenny-mcphee/.

Chicago: "Jenny McPhee." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jenny-mcphee/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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