Donohue, Keith 1960(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1960. Education: Duquesne University, B.A., M.A.; Catholic University of America, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—MD. Agent—Regal Literary, Inc., Penthouse, 1140 Broadway, New York, NY 10001. E-mail—keithdonohue1@mac.com.

CAREER:

National Endowment for the Arts, speechwriter, 1981-94, director of publications, 1994-97; U.S. General Services Administration, former senior advisor on work-life and child care issues; Center for Arts and Culture, former creative director; National Historical Publications and Records Commission, U.S. National Archive, Washington, DC, currently communications director and editor. Open Studio: The Arts Online, creator and producer.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Imagine! Introducing Your Child to the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts (Washington, DC), 1997.

The Irish Anatomist: A Study of Flann O'Brien, Maunsel (Bethesda, MD), 2002.

The Stolen Child (novel), Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Keith Donohue is a novelist, ghostwriter, communications director, and former speechwriter for the National Endowment for the Arts. The Stolen Child is Donohue's debut novel, a fantasy centered on the age-old notion of the changeling, the supernatural fairy creature left behind in exchange for an abducted human child. In Donohue's version, seven-year-old Henry Day is unhappy with his family and seeks to run away. Before he can depart, however, he ostensibly becomes lost in a forest, but is actually stolen away by changelings, who leave Aniday in Henry's place. The two switch names and identities, with the changeling taking on Henry's role in the Day family and Henry becoming Aniday and living in the forest with a group of other abducted children. The story follows the duo as the years pass and they struggle to come to terms with their new identities, changeling Henry aging while human Aniday forever remains the seven-year-old he was when abducted.

The new Henry struggles to cope with his life in the mortal world, facing difficulties in adjusting to school and to the ways and habits of humans. He also displays some subtle clues that he is not who he seems. For example, he shows musical talent that the original Henry did not possess. In the world of the fairies, human Aniday befriends his hosts, but he also experiences troubles adjusting to his new home. He resists letting go of his human background. He wishes for books and longs to see his family and experience the small pleasures of being human once again. Both human and changeling gradually recognize that they are not who they seem to be, and they must incorporate this knowledge into their search for meaning and purpose, and for the fundamental answer to who they are at heart. "Fairy tales often reach into dark places, and this one is no exception," observed Jenne Bergstrom in Library Journal. A Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded that "Donohue's sparkling debut especially delights because, by surrounding his fantasy with real-world, humdrum detail, he makes magic believable." Bergstrom called the book a "haunting … first novel."