Jane Yolen



Jane Hyatt Yolen (born 11 February 1939) is an American author and editor of folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She has written over 280 books, the best known of which is the Holocaust novella The Devil's Arithmetic. Her other works include the Nebula Award-winning short story Sister Emily's Lightship, the novelette Lost Girls, Owl Moon, The Emperor and the Kite, the Commander Toad series and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight.

Early life
Yolen was born in New York City.

Career
Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens, Favorite Folktales From Around the World, Xanadu and Xanadu 2 are among the works that she has edited.

Her latest book Naming Liberty, tells the story of a Russian girl and Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty.

Yolen also criticized the Harry Potter series: I read the first three. The fourth one stopped me in my tracks, partially because even though the story moves along, I just don't feel like they're well written. Besides, I wrote a book called Wizard's Hall [in 1991, eight years before the first Harry Potter book]. And there's an awful lot of Wizard's Hall in it [the Harry Potter books]. I always tell people that if Ms. Rowling would like to cut me a very large check, I would cash it. [Wizard's Hall] has got a boy named Henry [who] goes to wizard school, doesn't think he has talent. He has a good friend with red hair. There's a wicked wizard who's trying to destroy the school, and the pictures on the wall move and speak and change. I have kids who write to me all the time and say, "I thought you had stolen Harry Potter, but my teacher pointed out that you published it eight years before Harry Potter."

The Pit Dragon Trilogy

 * 1) Dragon's Blood (1982)
 * 2) Heart's Blood (1984)
 * 3) A Sending of Dragons (1987)
 * 4) Dragon's Heart (2009)

Selected novels and books
(She has written over 300)
 * The Bird of Time (illustrated by Mercer Mayer) (1971)
 * The Simple Prince (illustrated by Jack Kent) (1978)
 * The Gift of Sarah Barker (1981)
 * Children of the Wolf (1984)
 * The Stone Silenus (1984)
 * Cards of Grief (1985, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature)
 * Sister Light, Sister Dark (1989, Nebula Award finalist)
 * The Dragon's Boy (1990)
 * White Jenna (1990, Nebula Award finalist)
 * Greyling (1991, picture book)
 * Wings (1991, picture book)
 * Wizard's Hall (1991)
 * Briar Rose (1992, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, Nebula Award finalist)
 * The One Armed Queen (1998)
 * Armageddon Summer (1998, with Bruce Coville, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers)
 * The Wizard's Map (1999)
 * Queen's Own Fool (2000, with Robert J. Harris)
 * Wild Wings: Poems for Young People (2002, with Jason Stemple. National Outdoor Book Award (Children's Category))
 * Girl in a Cage (2002, with Robert J. Harris)
 * Sword of the Rightful King (2003, ALA Best Books 2004, ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2004, ALA Top 10 Fantasy Books for Youth 2004)
 * Prince Across the Water (2004, with Robert J. Harris)
 * The Young Merlin Trilogy: Passager, Hobby, and Merlin (2004)
 * Pay the Piper: A Rock and Roll Fairy Tale (2005, with Adam Stemple)
 * The Rogues (2007, with Robert J. Harris)
 * Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters (2011, illustrated by Kelly Murphy)
 * Curses! Foiled Again (2013, illustrated by Mike Cavallaro)

Selected novellas and novelettes

 * "The Devil's Arithmetic" (1988 novella, Nebula Award finalist; 1999, made into a movie starring Kirsten Dunst, Mimi Rogers and Brittany Murphy)
 * "Lost Girls" (1998 novelette, Nebula Award winner)

Selected poems

 * "Tintagel Morning: Song" (Asimov's Science Fiction, v.14 #4, April 1990)
 * "Angels Fly Because They Take Themselves Lightly" (Asimov's Science Fiction, v.15 #14, No.179, December 1991) (1991 Asimov's Readers' Award, poetry)
 * "Will" (Broadside, Midsummer Night's Press; The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Spring 1992) (1993 Rhysling Award winner)
 * "Lies" (Paradox, Issue 8, Winter 2005-2006)
 * "War Memorial: Edinburgh" (Paradox, Issue 8, Winter 2005-2006)
 * "Fife Map" (Paradox, Issue 9, Summer 2006)
 * "Suzy and Leah"
 * "Fat Is Not a Fairy Tale" (Find in Poetry 180)

Short story anthologies edited by Jane Yolen

 * Werewolves (1988, with Martin H. Greenberg)
 * Xanadu (1992, with Martin H. Greenberg)
 * Xanadu 2 (1993, with Martin H. Greenberg)
 * Xanadu 3 (1994, with Martin H. Greenberg)
 * 2041: Twelve Short Stories About the Future by Top Science Fiction Writers (1994, with Connie Willis and Anne McCaffrey)
 * Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens (2005, with Patrick Nielsen Hayden)

Folklore collection edited by Jane Yolen

 * Favorite Folktales From Around the World (winner of the World Fantasy Award)