Nancy Springer

{{short description|American fiction author (born 1948)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|07|05}}

| birth_place = Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.

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| language = English

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| genre = {{hlist|Science Fiction|Fantasy|Mystery|Thrillers|Young Adult}}

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| notable_works = The Enola Holmes Mysteries
Tales of Rowan Hood

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| awards = James Tiptree Jr. Award
Edgar Allan Poe Award
Carolyn W. Field Award

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Nancy Springer (born July 5, 1948) is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery, and science fiction.{{cite web|last=Davis|first=Stephen M|title=The SF Site Featured Review: I am Mordred: A Tale from Camelot|url=http://www.sfsite.com/06b/mord35.htm|publisher=SF Site|access-date=September 25, 2011}} Her novel Larque on the Wing won the Tiptree Award in 1994.{{cite web|title=Previous Awards—James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council|url=http://tiptree.org/award/previous-awards|publisher=James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council|access-date=September 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313222345/http://tiptree.org/award/previous-awards|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=dead}} She also received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America{{cite web|title=Edgar Award Winners and Nominees Database|url=http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php|publisher=TheEdgars.com|access-date=September 25, 2011}} for her novels Toughing It in 1995 and Looking for Jamie Bridger in 1996. Additionally, she received the Carolyn W. Field Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association in 1999 for her novel I am Mordred.{{cite web|title=Carolyn W. Field Award Winners|url=https://www.palibraries.org/page/CWFWinners|publisher=Pennsylvania Library Association|access-date=October 17, 2020}} She has written more than fifty books over a career that has spanned nearly four decades.

She released her first Enola Holmes book in 2006 and followed by 7 sequels in the series. Her other series include The Book of the Isle fantasy series and the Tales of Rowan Hood.{{cite web |url=https://theportalist.com/nancy-springer-interview |author=Carolyn Cox |title=Interview: Nancy Springer Talks Searching for Love Through 50+ Years of Writing |date=2022-08-10 |access-date=2022-11-25 |publisher=The Portalist}} The Enola Holmes Mysteries was adapted in 2020 as the Netflix film Enola Holmes and a 2022 sequel Enola Holmes 2.{{cite news |url=https://www.news-herald.com/2022/10/31/enola-holmes-2-another-charming-bit-of-mystery-with-more-good-work-from-millie-bobby-brown-movie-review/ |title='Enola Holmes 2' another charming bit of mystery with more good work from Millie Bobby Brown |author=Mark Meszoros |work=The News-Herald |date=2022-10-31 |access-date=2022-11-25}}

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Life and career

Nancy Springer was born in Montclair, New Jersey to Harry E. and Helen Connor,{{cite web|title=Springer, Nancy 1948–|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/springer-nancy-1948|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=October 17, 2020}} moving to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with her family when she was thirteen.

As a child, she read a lot about King Arthur and his Round Table and Robin Hood and had often read and reread Sherlock Holmes. She was raised to "speak grammatically" and is well versed with Victorian literature. Her parents were born in 1906 and 1909.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Her two older brothers had left the family for college by the time she hit puberty. Her mother was a professional artist, who painted oil portraits of pets. Springer was 14 when her mother's health began to deteriorate due to cancer, menopause and an early-onset form of Alzheimer's. Her parents had purchased a motel, which she helped work.

She remained in Pennsylvania for forty-six years, raising two children, Jonathan Paul (born in 1974) and Nora Lynn (born in 1978), by her first husband Joel Springer, a minister and fine art photographer. They were divorced in 1996. She met her second husband, Jaime Fernando Pinto, in 1999, while she was working in a no-kill animal shelter.{{cite web|title=About Nancy|url=https://www.nancyspringer.com/biography/|website=Nancy Spring|access-date=October 17, 2020}} In 2007, they moved to Bonifay, Florida, in a secluded part of the Florida panhandle, a place conducive to her hobbies of birdwatching, horseback riding and fishing, and his love of aviation.{{Cite web|last=Bhattacharya|first=Suryasarathi|date=September 23, 2020|title=Enola Holmes author Nancy Springer on her popular mystery series and the Netflix adaptation |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/enola-holmes-author-nancy-springer-on-her-popular-mystery-series-and-the-netflix-adaptation-8801141.html|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=Firstpost}}{{cite web|title=Nancy Springer|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22547.Nancy_Springer|website=goodreads|access-date=October 17, 2020}}{{Cite web|last=Simmons|first=Tony|date=August 13, 2019|title='Stranger Things' star Millie Bobby Brown shooting film based on Bonifay author's novels.|url=https://www.newsherald.com/news/20190813/stranger-things-star-millie-bobby-brown-shooting-film-based-on-bonifay-authors-novels|access-date=September 27, 2020|website=Panama City News Herald|language=en}}

Works

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=Collections=

  • Chance and Other Gestures of the Hand of Fate (1985)
  • Stardark Songs (1993)

=Series=

==The Book of the Isle==

  1. The White Hart (1979)
  2. The Book of Suns (1977) expanded as The Silver Sun (1980)
  3. The Sable Moon (1981)
  4. The Black Beast (1982)
  5. The Golden Swan (1983)

==Sea King==

  1. Madbond (1987)
  2. Mindbond (1987)
  3. Godbond (1988)

==[[Tales of Rowan Hood]]==

==[[The Enola Holmes Mysteries]]==

  1. The Case of the Missing Marquess (2006)
  2. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (2007)
  3. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (2008)
  4. The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (2008)
  5. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (2009)
  6. The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye (2010) also published with the title The Case of the Disappearing Duchess{{cite book | url=https://christchurch.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S37C672708 | title=The case of the gypsy good-bye | series=Enola Holmes | year=2010 | publisher=Philomel Books }}
  7. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (2021)
  8. Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade (2022)
  9. Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (2023)
  10. Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons (short story) (2021)

{{column}}

=Other novels=

Awards and nominations

  • Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature Best Novel nominee (1982): The Sable Moon{{cite web|title=Mythopoeic Awards – Fantasy|url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/fantasy/|publisher=Mythopoeic Society|access-date=September 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006201252/http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/fantasy/|archive-date=October 6, 2011}}
  • World Fantasy Best Short Story nominee (1987): "The Boy Who Plaited Manes"{{cite web|title=World Fantasy Awards – Complete Listing|url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html|publisher=World Fantasy Convention|access-date=September 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015020014/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html|archive-date=October 15, 2013}}
  • Hugo Best Short Story nominee (1987): "The Boy Who Plaited Manes"{{cite web|title=1987 Hugo Awards|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1997-hugo-awards-2/|publisher=The Hugo Awards|access-date=September 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164707/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1997-hugo-awards-2/|archive-date=May 7, 2011}}
  • Nebula Best Short Story nominee (1987): "The Boy Who Plaited Manes"
  • Tiptree Award (1995): Larque on the Wing
  • Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery (1995): Toughing It
  • Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery (1996): Looking for Jamie Bridger
  • Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature Best Novel nominee (1997): Fair Peril
  • Carolyn W. Field Award (1999): I am Mordred{{cite web|title=Carolyn W. Field Award|url=http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/books/showbooklist.cfm?list=fieldaward|publisher=Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh|access-date=March 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305054318/http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/books/showbooklist.cfm?list=fieldaward|archive-date=March 5, 2013}}
  • Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery nominee (2007): The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery
  • Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery nominee (2010): The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline: An Enola Holmes Mystery

References

{{Reflist |25em}}