Ann Wood Waldron (December 14, 1924 – July 2, 2010) was an American author who initially focused on writing for children and young adults, then turned to biographies of authors from the South, and ultimately shifted in her late seventies to writing

murder mysteries "Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman first published in the 1992 anthology ''Midnight Graffiti'' and later collected in his collections '' Angels and Visitations'' and '' Smoke and Mirrors''. Plot The narrator, a young ...

set at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

Early life

Ann Wood was born on December 14, 1924, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, where she attended West End High School.Spell, Carrie
Ann Waldron
, ''

Encyclopedia of Alabama The ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'' is an online encyclopedia of the state of Alabama's history, culture, geography, and natural environment. It is a statewide collaboration that involves more than forty institutions from across Alabama that share the ...

''. Accessed July 14, 2010. She earned a degree in journalism in 1945 from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

and was editor of the college newspaper ''

The Crimson White ''The Crimson White'', known colloquially as "''The CW''," is a student-run publication of the University of Alabama published twice a week under The Crimson White Media Group. Its circulation in the fall and spring is about 14,000, and it is dist ...

''. After graduation, she worked for ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' where she met her future husband

Martin Waldron Martin Oliver "Mo" Waldron (February 2, 1925 – May 27, 1981) was an American newspaper reporter. His 1963 series of articles in the '' St. Petersburg Times'' exposed the state's "reckless, unchecked spending" on the construction of the Sunshine ...

. She would later write for the country life magazine ''

Progressive Farmer ''Progressive Farmer'' is an agricultural magazine, published 14 times a year by DTN. The magazine is based in Birmingham, Alabama. History Founded in Winston, North Carolina, in 1886 by North Carolina native Leonidas Lafayette Polk (1837–18 ...

'', wrote about state government for ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. Pe ...

'' and was a book editor for the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''.Hevesi, Dennis
"Ann Waldron, Biographer of Southern Writers, Is Dead at 85"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', July 6, 2010. Accessed July 13, 2010.

Writing career

Waldron's earliest writings included six children's novels and nonfiction books for young adults about notable artists. Her first books, published in 1975, were ''The House on Pendleton Block'', the story of a girl who moves to Texas and explores the mysterious house the family lives in, and ''The Integration of Mary-Larkin Thornhill'' which is about a girl who is one of two white students in a newly integrated school. She shifted to biography with her 1987 book ''Close Connections:

Caroline Gordon Caroline Ferguson Gordon (October 6, 1895 – April 11, 1981) was an American novelist and literary critic who, while still in her thirties, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1932 and an O. Henry Award in 1934. Biography Gordon was born ...

and the Southern Renaissance'', which was published by

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

.Ann Waldron
personal website. Accessed July 13, 2010. ''

Hodding Carter William Hodding Carter, II (February 3, 1907 – April 4, 1972), was a Southern U.S. progressive journalist and author. Among other distinctions in his career, Carter was a Nieman Fellow and Pulitzer Prize winner. He died in Greenville, Missis ...

: The Reconstruction of a Racist'', which documented the life and transformation of a newspaperman in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. H ...

, was recognized by ''

'' as a 1993 Notable Book of the Year, which noted how the book "outlines in rich and intriguing detail the price paid by the editor for questioning the tradition of white supremacy". A later book was a biography of

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel '' The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerou ...

, who refused to co-operate on the writing of the book. The 1998 book ''Eudora: A Writer's Life'' was reviewed by ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', which called Welty "lucky that Ann Waldron is her first biographer" and praised Welson for writing "a judicious account, written against the odds". At age 78, she turned to writing a series of

about a newspaperwoman who investigates crimes at

Death

Waldron died at age 85 on July 2, 2010, at her home in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

due to heart failure. Her husband, Pulitzer Prize-winner

, died in 1981, at which time he was the

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. She was survived by a daughter, three sons, eight grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Ann 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 1924 births 2010 deaths American children's writers American mystery writers American women novelists Writers from Princeton, New Jersey University of Alabama alumni Novelists from Alabama Writers from Birmingham, Alabama Novelists from New Jersey American women children's writers Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American biographers American women biographers 21st-century American biographers