Nancy Springer (born July 5, 1948) is an American author of fantasy,

young adult literature Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

, and science fiction. Her novel ''Larque on the Wing'' won the

Tiptree Award The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science f ...

in 1994. She also received the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

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''. 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''. '' The Enola Holmes Mysteries'' was adapted in 2020 as the Netflix film '' Enola Holmes'' and a 2022 sequel ''

Enola Holmes 2 ''Enola Holmes 2'' is a 2022 mystery film and the sequel to the 2020 film '' Enola Holmes'', both of which star Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the teenage sister of the already-famous Victorian-era detective Sherlock Holmes. The fil ...

''.

Life and career

Nancy Springer was born in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

to Harry E. and Helen Connor, moving to

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

with her family when she was thirteen. As a child, she read a lot about

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

and his

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

and

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

and had often read and reread

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

. She was raised to "speak grammatically" and is well versed with

Victorian literature Victorian literature refers to English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century is considered by some to be the Golden Age of English Literature, especially for British novels. It was in the Victorian era tha ...

. Her parents were born in 1906 and 1909. 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 Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

and an early-onset form of

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

. 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. In 2007, they moved to Bonifay, Florida, in a secluded part of the

Florida panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

, a place conducive to her hobbies of birdwatching, horseback riding and fishing, and his love of aviation.

Works

Collections

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

Series

The Book of the Isle

# ''

The White Hart The White Hart ("hart" being an archaic word for a mature stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a pu ...

'' (1979) # ''The Book of Suns'' (1977) expanded as ''The Silver Sun'' (1980) # ''The Sable Moon'' (1981) # '' The Black Beast'' (1982) # ''The Golden Swan'' (1983)

Sea King

# '' Madbond'' (1987) # '' Mindbond'' (1987) # '' Godbond'' (1988)

Tales of Rowan Hood

# '' Rowan Hood: Outlaw Girl of Sherwood Forest'' (2001) # '' Lionclaw'' (2002) # '' Outlaw Princess of Sherwood'' (2003) # ''Wild Boy'' (2004) # '' Rowan Hood Returns'' (2005)

The Enola Holmes Mysteries

# ''The Case of the Missing Marquess'' (2006) # ''The Case of the Left-Handed Lady'' (2007) # ''The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets'' (2008) # ''The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan'' (2008) # ''The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline'' (2009) # ''The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye'' (2010) also published with the title ''The Case of the Disappearing Duchess'' # ''Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche'' (2021) # ''Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade'' (2022)

Other novels

* '' Wings of Flame'' (1985) * ''

Chains of Gold ''Chains of Gold'' is a 1991 American crime drama film starring and co-written by John Travolta. It was directed by Rod Holcomb and included one of the early performances of Joey Lawrence, who was nominated for Young Artist Award for his role ...

'' (1986) * '' A Horse to Love'' (1987) * '' The Hex Witch of Seldom'' (1988) * '' Not on a White Horse'' (1988) * ''

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

'' (1989) * '' They're All Named Wildfire'' (1989) * '' Red Wizard'' (1990) * ''

Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

'' (1991) * '' Damnbanna'' (1992) * '' The Friendship Song'' (1992) * '' The Great Pony Hassle'' (1993) * '' Toughing It'' (1994) * '' The Blind God is Watching'' (1994) * '' Larque on the Wing'' (1994) * '' The Boy on a Black Horse'' (1994) * '' Metal Angel'' (1994) * '' Looking for Jamie Bridger'' (1996) * '' Fair Peril'' (1996) * '' Secret Star'' (1997) * '' I Am Mordred'' (1998) * '' Sky Rider'' (1999) * ''

Plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

'' (2000) * '' Separate Sisters'' (2001) * '' I am Morgan le Fay'' (2001) * '' Needy Creek'' (2001) * '' Blood Trail'' (2003) * '' Dusssie'' (2007) * ''

Somebody Somebody may refer to: Music Albums * ''Somebody'', by Connie Dover, 1991 * ''Somebody'', by Philip Michael Thomas, 1988 Songs * "Somebody" (Aerosmith song), 1973 * "Somebody" (Bonnie McKee song), 2004 * "Somebody" (Bridgit Mendler song), 20 ...

'' (2009) * '' Possessing Jessie'' (2010) * '' Dark Lie'' (2012) * '' My Sister’s Stalker'' (2012) * '' Drawn into Darkness'' (2013) * '' The Oddling Prince'' (2018) * '' Grandghost'' (2018)

Awards and nominations

* Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature Best Novel nominee (1982): ''The Sable Moon'' * World Fantasy Best Short Story nominee (1987): "The Boy Who Plaited Manes" * Hugo Best Short Story nominee (1987): "The Boy Who Plaited Manes" * 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'' * 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

External links

* *
Nancy Springer Papers at Gettysburg College
*
Nancy Springer's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Nancy 1948 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American science fiction writers American mystery writers American fantasy writers American women novelists American young adult novelists Edgar Award winners Living people Magic realism writers People from Montclair, New Jersey Novelists from New Jersey Women mystery writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Women writers of young adult literature Writers of modern Arthurian fiction