Bill Keenan’s name may ring familiar to longtime followers of collegiate hockey, but his recent public appearances have been less about slap shots and more about the soft cadence of romance.
After hanging up his skates in 2012, Keenan earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and spent several years in investment banking. The discipline honed on the rink found a new outlet in writing, leading him to publish two memoirs, 'Odd Man Rush' and 'Discussion Materials', that chronicle the grit and camaraderie of a hockey career.
A chance encounter at a Halloween party in 2019 introduced him to Olivia MacKinnon, a soloist with the New York City Ballet. Their partnership quickly evolved from dance partners to life partners, a union that has been punctuated by the presence of family members deeply embedded in the ballet world, including Keenan’s sister Glenn, who serves as a repertory director at the same company.
Together they have ventured into collaborative storytelling, with Keenan co‑authoring a novel alongside romance veteran Sawyer Bennett. Their creative synergy reflects a broader ambition: to translate the rhythm of the ice into the cadence of love stories.
The Swan and the Sentinel
Scheduled for release on June 16, 'The Swan and the Sentinel' marks Keenan’s debut as a novelist. Published by Simon & Schuster’s Post Hill Press imprint, the book promises a blend of on‑ice tension and off‑ice yearning, echoing the author’s own trajectory from athlete to wordsmith.
The narrative draws subtle inspiration from the choreography of George Balanchine, whose influence permeates both the ballet studio and Keenan’s prose, suggesting that balance — whether on skates or in a love story — is achieved through disciplined grace.