Valerie Hemingway

Author of Running with the Bulls

Valerie Hemingway

Author of Running with the Bulls

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Biography

Since 2019 Valerie has worked as a consulting editor on the two final volumes of The Letters of Ernest Hemingway 1957-1961 (Cambridge University Press). This has occasioned research at major libraries, including the Harry Ransom Library, U. of Texas, Austin, and Princeton’s Fireside Library. Her team of three, Professors J. Gerald Kennedy of LSU Baton Rouge, and Michael Von Cannon, of Florida Gulf Coast University meet together on Zoom for some hours each week from three different time zones. They are scheduled to make a podcast on their progress in June 2025.

In June 2023, Valerie presented a paper at the Hemingway Colloquo in Havana, and made a documentary based on the writer’s life in Cuba, filmed at the Museo Hemingway, formerly Finca Vigia, the author’s home.

In April 2024 she led a Writers Retreat at the Hotel Walloon in northern Michigan, followed by some appearances in Detroit. Two months later, she was the featured speaker at the Hemingway International Conference in Bilbao, Spain on July 21st, Hemingway’s 125th birthday.

In January 2025, Running with the Bulls, was published in Lithuania, twenty years after its original publication. The 96-year-old Patrick Hemingway, Ernest’s last surviving son, had the memoir read to him recently. His eyesight has failed but his mind is still sharp. He told Valerie in April 2025 that he thought it was the best written recollection of his father’s last years. This was the highest praise the book could receive from a harsh critic, who for two decades, had avoided reading it.

Speech Topics

Running with the Bulls: Hemingway as I Know Him

In prose of brilliant clarity and stinging candor, Valerie evokes the magic and the pathos of Papa Hemingway's last years. Swept up in the wild revelry that always exploded around Hemingway, Valerie found herself dancing in the streets of Pamplona, cheering bullfighters at Valencia, careening around hairpin turns in Provence, and savoring the panorama of Paris from her attic room in the Ritz.

From lunches with Orson Welles to midnight serenades by mysterious troubadours, from a rooftop encounter with Castro to numbing hospital vigils, Valerie Hemingway played an intimate, indispensable role in the lives of two generations of Hemingways. This memoir, by turns luminous, enthralling, and devastating, is the account of what she enjoyed, and what she endured, during her astonishing years of living as a Hemingway."

Testimonials

"You were spot on regarding your assessment of Valerie Hemingway. What a charming and delightful lady!! Everyone loved her. I hope that we didn’t tire her out too much, but she is a dynamo. Thank you so much for this marvelous recommendation."

- The Tuckahoe Woman’s Club

"Valerie's presentation was absolutely wonderful!! We had a super turnout for the event - 106 people. She received tons of press from our local newspaper as well as the Detroit paper. Her talk was fabulous and she was delightful to work with. I can't thank you and Melissa enough for the opportunity to have her at our library."

- Baldwin Public Library - Birmingham, MI

"Valerie was absolutely wonderful. Everyone loved her. I can’t say enough about how glad we are that she was at our event!"

- West Palm Beach Library Foundation

"What a truly wonderful memoir. Thank you so much for you insight into the man and his family, and into the events of your own interesting life. Providence had you at the right place at the right time often to become such a vital piece of literary history."

- Center for Success, Mesquite High School

"She was very knowledgeable and endearing. She conveys the sense of "having been there" without aggrandizing her role or even her presence; it inspires the trust of her audience."

- Log Cabin Literacy Center

"Valerie was fabulous yesterday. We had 500+ people and it was very well received. Few written questions, so she took some ad lib ones and all were well answered. Lots of compliments to me afterwards. What a charming woman. Reading her book, it's clear she has had a more amazing life than she even told about."

- Los Altos, CA Morning Forum

"Things went beautifully. Her program was wonderful and she was so gracious when meeting and talking to people that wanted to ask questions and visit with her. It was the perfect way to end the season."

- Mary Craig Class, Dallas, TX

"Our event with Valerie was INCREDIBLE. She was fabulous -- gracious, charming, endearing -- and our Library supporters loved her. I have heard rave reviews from everyone. Her unique perspective into the life of Ernest Hemingway was beautifully presented. I can't thank you enough. She made our first fundraiser a memorable one, indeed!"

- Stark County Public Library

"I am still hearing rave reviews whenever I see someone who was at your presentation! You delighted the attendees with your beautiful stories about your fascinating life. The event proved to be just what the committee had hoped for and we have you to thank for that!!"

- Stark County (OH) District Library Foundation