Glenn Cheney is a writer, translator, editor, and journalist. He lives in Hanover, Connecticut, with his wife, Solange. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy at Fairfield University in 1974, and an M.A. from that university's Graduate School of Communication in 1982. He went on to earn a B.A. in English-language literature at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, in Brazil, in 1991. In that same year, he took an M.F.A. in Writing at Vermont College. He has taught courses in writing at Connecticut College, Fairfield University, Albertus Magnus College, Norwalk Community College, and Three Rivers Community-Technical College.
Most of Cheney's books are nonfiction on controversial topics, many of them for young adult readers. Journey to Chernobyl is an account of his trip to Ukraine, where he talked with a wide variety of citizens who had been affected by the nuclear disaster there. Journey on the Estrada Real: Encounters in the Mountains of Brazil is about the people and culture along the oldest road in the Americas. Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims’ First Year in America, published by New London Librarium, has been well received by thousands of readers.
Acts of Ineffable Love is a collection of his short stories that have appeared in literary magazines. His novel Frankenstein on the Cusp of Something is a bildungsroman about a young, disturbed individual struggling to come to grips with the world. Passion in an Improper Place is novel about ongoing conflicts in Brazil’s Amazon region. Life in Caves is a young adult novel that could be seen as a prequel to Frankenstein. Neighborhood News is a novel disguised as a small-town newsletter.
Glenn Cheney also edited How a Nation Grieves: Press Accounts of the Death of Lincoln, the Hunt for Booth, and America in Mourning, with a foreword by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney.
Cheney has also written books about nuns and sisters who work under difficult conditions, and Brazil’s Quilombo dos Palmares. Sometimes he writes a poem.
Cheney also translates books and edits translations of books by classic Brazilian writers, among them Machado de Assis, Mário de Andrade, Rubem Alves, João do Rio, and Monteiro Lobato.
As a journalist, Cheney has written most about business, finance, and accounting. He has been a correspondent for Accounting Today and has contributed regularly to the Journal of Accountancy, Strategic Finance, Accounting & Business, in the U.K., Australian CPA, and Financial Executive.
Concerned about politics and the problems of the world, Cheney has contributed op-ed essays to newspapers in Atlanta, Hartford, Louisville, Ft. Lauderdale, and other cities. His letters to editors have appeared in the New York Times, Harper's Magazine, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and several newspapers in Connecticut.He writes a weekly column for the Norwich Times.
Cheney's life has included a lot of travel. After graduating from college, he hitchhiked to Brazil. A few years later, he traveled around northern Africa and across the Sahara Desert. He has lived in Brazil three times. Recent trips have taken him to El Salvador, Argentina, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, India, Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.
Cheney is an active member of the Sprague Democratic Town Committee. He has served as a member of the town's Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance. For several years he served as chairman of the board of Sprague Public Library. He has also served on the town's Inland Wetlands Commission. As a member of the Baltic Fire Department, he was a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician. He is active in Sprague Historical Society. As a founder of the Citizens' Regulatory Commission, he was active in promoting the safe use of nuclear energy.
More information can be found in Who's Who in America and Contemporary Authors.
Awards and Recognition
- 1997 Book for the Teen Age by New York Public Library for They Never Knew: The Victims of Atomic Testing.
- 1996 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers, American Library Association, for Teens with Physical Disabilities.
- 1994 Book for the Teen Age by New York Public Library for Drugs, Teens and Recovery.
- Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest 1992 Poetry Contest for "Cave Lux(e)"
- Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest 1992 Article Contest for "Reflections on a Radioactive Zone"
- Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest 1991 Fiction Contest for “Bail.”
- Gold Medal (shared) at 1991 International Radio Festival for "Tuning in the U.S.A."
- Second Place, Arts and Entertainment Reporting, 1991, New England Press Association.
- Pushcart XVII Prize nomination for short story, "Henney's Tubes."
- Notable Trade Book acknowledgement by American Council of Social StudiesTeachers for Television in American Society.
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