Mary-Ann Kirkby (born 1959) is a Canadian author who has written two memoirs about her upbringing in the Hutterite tradition.
Mary-Ann Kirkby
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 (age 64–65) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Author |
| Notable work | I Am Hutterite Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen |
Kirkby was born on a Hutterite colony in Manitoba to Ronald and Mary Dornn.[1] Her family left the colony in 1969 when Kirkby was ten years old due to a conflict between Kirkby's father and the colony's head minister.[2] Kirkby studied broadcast journalism in college, eventually becoming a television reporter and singer.[3]
Kirkby has written two books about her Hutterite upbringing. I Am Hutterite was originally self-published in 2007, earning enough commercial and critical success to lead to a 2010 re-release by publishers Key Porter Books in Canada and Thomas Nelson in the United States.[4][5][6] The follow-up, Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen, was published in 2014.[7] Kirkby won the 2007 Saskatchewan Book Award for Non-fiction[8] and the Gold Prize for Best Culinary Narrative at the 2015 Taste Canada Food Writing Awards.[9] Kirkby has also co-written a children's book entitled Make a Rabbit, which she self-published in 2010.[10]
She is married to Gordon Kirkby, a politician.[3]