Whether They Be has been short- and long-listed by several novels-in-progress literary contests, including Simon & Schuster’s “Books Like Us,” James Jones First Novel Fellowship, San Francisco Writers’ Conference; and Master’s Review Novel Excerpt, where it placed in “the top 2%” of submissions!
Whether They Be
a novel manuscript
Whether They Be has been short- and long-listed by several novels-in-progress literary contests, including Simon & Schuster’s “Books Like Us,” James Jones First Novel Fellowship, San Francisco Writers’ Conference; and Master’s Review Novel Excerpt, where it placed in “the top 2%” of submissions.
Whether They Be is a story set in the turbulent days of 1968 when a shameful secret is exposed, forcing two families—one white and one Black—to confront their history and negotiate their paths forward. WHETHER THEY BE is the story of three generations of a white Nebraskan family early in the civil rights movement whose attitudes range from white supremacy, attempts at allyship and, finally, friendships across races. At its heart, the story is about the intersection of white and black lives, the obstacles to true connection and attempts to bridge the divide. It shows a riveting moment in America, one that echoes present-day struggles against racism.
Following a 1968 riot in Omaha where a black teenager is killed by an off-duty white police officer, Grace Rowley learns that the baby she gave up two decades earlier is alive and still living in the institution where she, a frightened teenager, was forced to leave him. Now, herself the mother of a teenage girl, Grace’s marriage, job and relationships are thrown into turmoil. Despite pressure to forget him, she is compelled to meet her son and tell the truth about his father.
Promotional Readings & Speaking Engagements:
- Libros Schmibros, Los Angeles
- West Hollywood Book Festival
- Poor Richard’s Books, Frankfort, KY
- Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
- Laurel Books, Oakland
- Gulf of Maine Books, Brunswick, ME
- Kismet Inn, Bath, ME
- Books, Inc., Berkeley, CA
- A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland
- The River Reader, Guerneville, CA
- San Francisco Main Library
- California Writers Club, Berkeley
- Deisel Books, Oakland
- Book Passage, San Francisco
- Book Passage, Corte Madera
- Black Oak Books, Berkeley, CA
- Cody’s Books, Berkeley, CA
Katherine Briccetti, San Francisco Litquake Festival Oct 2022. Photo credit: Bay Area Rapid Transit.
Excerpt Nominated for a Pushcart Prize
Heyday Books (May 2010)
Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood & Social Change
Seal Press (May 2008)
“Gravity” Five Minute Literary Journal, 2025
“Facing the Beast” in Passager, 2025
“Facing the Beast” KQED Radio, 2024
“Radiant Crown” ShortEdition.com, 2022
“Making the Count Count” KQED Radio, 2020
“Blood Strangers” in NEW CALIFORNIA WRITING, Heyday, 2011
“Warrant” in ONE WORD: Contemporary Writers on the Words they Love or Loathe, Sarabande, 2010
“Wedding Gown Closet” in DEAR JOHN, I LOVE JANE, Seal Press, 2010
“The Kids Are All Right” on Popeater.com, 2010
“Prop. 8 and coming to the end of fear” in Los Angeles Times, 2010
“The Strawberry”on Switched-On Gutenberg, 2009
‘What Helps You Remember?” in Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Narrative, 2009
“Re-choreograhing a Discordant Dance” in MOTIF: Writing By Ear, Motes Books, 2009
“The Baby Bank” in WHO’S YOUR MAMA, Soft Skull Press/Counterpoint, 2009
“Seeing in the Dark” on Literary Mama, 2008
“Perpetual Grace” in Under the Sun, 2008
“Adoption in III Acts” in THE MATERNAL IS POLITICAL, Seal Press, 2008
“Unmasking the Father” in San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, 2007
“Blood Strangers” in Dos Passos Review, 2007 – Nominated for a Pushcart Prize
“Slow Dancing to a Fast Song” in upstreet number three, 2007
“Mommywantsitnow” in So to Speak: a feminist journal of language and art, 2007
“Soldier’s memoir shows toll of Iraq War” in San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, 2007
“Ten Ways to Evoke Emotion in Prose” in The Writer, September 2007
“What Happens When You Stop Fighting Gravity” in flashquake.org, 2007
“Terns on the Tarmac” in Wildlife Refuge, 2005
“Sharing Love”in The Bark, 2004
“The Big Question” in San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, 2003
“Third World Women sacrifice in their quest for a better life” in San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, 2003
Blood Strangers: A Memoir, a captivating, multi-generational story of an alternative family, was published by Heyday Books. It was a LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist, and an essay excerpt was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the Dos Passos Review.
The novel manuscript, Whether They Be, is a semi-finalist in the 2022 Simon & Schuster Books Like Us contest, 2022 San Francisco Writers’ Conference Finalist, and a 2021 semi-finalist in the James Jones First Novel Fellowship!
Katherine Briccetti is also a San Francisco Bay Area-based documentary, lifestyle, and fine art photographer, specializing in portrait photography. Find her portfolio here. Find/follow her latest photography on Instagram!