Ami McKay biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Ami McKay

Ami McKay

How to pronounce Ami McKay: (like Amy)

Ami McKay Biography

Ami McKay's debut novel, The Birth House was a # 1 bestseller in Canada, winner of three CBA Libris Awards, nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and a book club favourite around the world. Her novel, The Virgin Cure, is inspired by the life of her great-great-grandmother, Dr. Sarah Fonda Mackintosh, a female physician in nineteenth century New York. Born and raised in Indiana, Ami now lives in Nova Scotia.

Ami McKay's website

This bio was last updated on 10/26/2016. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Interview

Ami McKay describes the series of coincidences that led her to create The Virgin Cure and shares the experiences she had while writing this book.

Coincidence? I think not.

After you've finished writing a novel, there comes a moment when you decide to pack up the notebooks, index cards, and sticky notes you've scattered through your life for the past few years and bid them a fond farewell. It's a bittersweet process to be sure, but it's also a time of excitement, because (if you're lucky) there's a new idea sitting in the back of your head waiting to find its way to the page. Before I put it all away, there's a story I'd like to share, a story about the importance of accepting what comes your way and then choosing to dig a bit deeper.

My journey to writing The Virgin Cure began with the simple, personal act of tracing my family history. Even as a child, I'd been curious about what was lurking between the roots of my family tree and would often beg my parents and grandparents to tell me everything they knew about my relatives, people I affectionately called "the dearly."

The life of my great-great grandmother, Dr. Sarah Fonda Mackintosh had always been of interest to me and it was her story that led me visit dusty archives and search out census records in hopes of learning more about her past. There was no trace of her left in my family's personal papers - no journals, no ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Ami McKay at BookBrowse
The Witches of New York jacket The Virgin Cure jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Ami McKay but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Amy Bloom

    Amy Bloom

    Author of three New York Times best-sellers and three collections of short stories, a children's book (another coming in 2022) and a ground-breaking collection of essays. Bloom has been a nominee for both the National Book ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Virgin Cure

    Try:
    Away
    by Amy Bloom

  • Vanessa Diffenbaugh

    Vanessa Diffenbaugh

    Vanessa Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, California. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford University, Vanessa taught art and writing to youth in low-income communities. To write ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Virgin Cure

    Try:
    The Language of Flowers
    by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

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