In Memory of Sallie Bingham, Acclaimed Writer and Philanthropist January 22, 1937 – August 6, 2025

By Keith L. Runyon

Sallie Bingham, a nationally recognized author, playwright, feminist, and former Courier-Journal book editor, died August 6 at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was 88 and was surrounded by her two sons, her sister, and her grandchildren. 

Born Sarah Montague Bingham on January 22, 1937, she was the elder daughter of Barry Bingham, Sr., publisher of The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times, and his wife, Mary Caperton Bingham. The Binghams were among Louisville’s most prominent families, known for their leadership in journalism, civic affairs, and philanthropy. 

Raised in Louisville, Ms. Bingham attended the Louisville Collegiate School before enrolling at Radcliffe College, where her literary talents began to flourish. Her first novel, After Such Knowledge, was published in 1961, marking the beginning of a prolific writing career that would span more than six decades. Over the years, she authored novels, short stories, plays, and memoirs that were widely praised for their insight into themes of gender, identity, and family. 

Her fiction and nonfiction appeared in respected publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Redbook, and her short stories were selected for The O. Henry Prize Stories. Known for her elegant prose and unflinching voice, she became an important literary figure in American letters. 

Ms. Bingham returned to Louisville in the 1970s and served as book editor at The Courier-Journal, a position her mother had once held. There, she championed Southern and Appalachian authors including Wendell Berry, Peter Taylor, Barbara Kingsolver, and Bobbie Ann Mason. Under her leadership, the newspaper’s book section was widely regarded as one of the nation’s finest outside New York and Washington. 

In addition to her literary work, Ms. Bingham made enduring contributions to feminist advocacy and philanthropy. In 1985, she established the Kentucky Foundation for Women, a Louisville-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing the work of women artists and writers. One of the organization’s early efforts was The American Voice, a literary journal edited by the late poet and professor Frederick Smock. This and other philanthropic gifts were funded by proceeds from the sale of Bingham properties in 1986. 

She was also a major benefactor of Duke University, where she endowed the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, housed within the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. The center remains a national leader in documenting and preserving the history of women’s lives and activism. 

Ms. Bingham’s published works include the short story collection Transgressions (2002), her memoirs Passion and Prejudice (1989), The Blue Box: Three Lives in Letters (2014), Little Brother (2022), and most recently, the historical novel Taken by the Shawnee (2024). A new story collection, How Daddy Lost His Ear, is scheduled for release this fall. 

Throughout her life, she received numerous honors and fellowships from organizations including Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. In 2023, she won the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize for her story “What I Learned from Fat Annie.” 

Ms. Bingham was also a lifelong advocate for land preservation. In 1989, she donated a conservation easement protecting more than 400 acres of her historic Wolf Pen Farm in Oldham County. The land, adjacent to her home known as Hopscotch House, is held in trust by River Fields, Inc., a nonprofit founded in part by her mother, Mary Bingham, in 1959. River Fields’ former executive director Meme Sweets Griffith said it led to “a cascade of conservation,” noting that thousands of acres have been protected following Ms. Bingham’s example. Ms. Bingham later gave similar easements for land she acquired near Santa Fe. 

Despite living much of her later life in New Mexico, Ms. Bingham remained connected to her Kentucky roots. Her works often referenced or were set in the Commonwealth, and her philanthropy touched many corners of the state’s cultural and environmental life. 

She was married and divorced three times — to A. Whitney Ellsworth, founding editor of The New York Review of Books; attorney Michael Iovenko; and Louisville contractor Timothy Peters. All three preceded her in death. 

She is survived by two sons, Barry Bingham Ellsworth of New York City and Santa Fe, and Christopher Iovenko (Jessica Carter Iovenko) of Los Angeles; Barry Ellsworth’s former wife, Camilla Motta Ellsworth, of Santa Fe; a sister, Eleanor Bingham Miller of Harrods Creek Farm, Goshen; and five grandchildren, Adriane Ellsworth (Aggrey) and Iona Ellsworth (Wenyu), both of Chicago; Ezra Iovenko of Los Angeles, and Sadie Iovenko and Michael Iovenko, both of Louisville. A third son, William Iovenko, died in 2018. Also surviving are nieces Clara Bingham (Joseph Gregory Finnerty III) of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Emily Bingham (Stephen Reily) of Louisville; Molly Bingham of Girona, Spain, and Eleanor Hannah Miller of Louisville; and nephews Rowland A.D. Miller of New York City and Benjamin Worth Miller (Tracy Lear) of Goshen. In addition to her son, she was preceded in death by her three brothers: Worth, Barry Jr., and Jonathan Bingham, and her nephew, Robert Worth Bingham IV. 

A woman of letters and action, Sallie Bingham’s life was distinguished by her commitment to the arts, women’s rights, and environmental stewardship. She wrote with passion, clarity, and purpose—qualities that earned her admiration far beyond her hometown. 

A memorial service was to be held at Holy Faith Episcopal Church, Santa Fe, where she was a devoted parishioner. Her remains were cremated. Rivera Family Funeral Home in Santa Fe has been entrusted with arrangements. 

Keith L. Runyon is the retired editorial and book pages editor of The Courier-Journal, where he was on the staff between 1969 and 2012.