Ursula Nordstrom (February 2, 1910 – October 11, 1988) was publisher and
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of juvenile books at
Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
from 1940 to 1973. She is credited with presiding over a transformation in
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
in which
morality tales written for adult approval gave way to works that instead appealed to children's imaginations and emotions.
She also authored the 1960 children's book ''The Secret Language''. A collection of her correspondence was published in 1998, as ''Dear Genius: the Letters of Ursula Nordstrom''.
Biography
Early life
Ursula Nordstrom was born in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
on February 2, 1910 to
Henry E. Dixey
Henry E. Dixey (born Henry E. Dixon; January 6, 1859 – February 25, 1943) was an American actor and theatre producer.
Dixey was born on January 6, 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts. He made his stage debut in Boston in 1868, joining the variety ...
and
Marie Nordstrom
Marie Nordstrom (12 April 1881/1886 - 2 January 1979) was an American actress.
Early years
Born in Fort Apache, Arizona Territory, Nordstrom was the daughter of United States Cavalry Captain Charles E. Nordstrom. She was also the older sister o ...
,
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
comedians, and grew up in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. She took business courses at The Scudder School for Girls in New York.
Career
Nordstrom was hired in 1936 as a clerk in the textbook department of
Harper & Brothers
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
, and later as an assistant in the Harper Books for Boys and Girls section for Louise Raymond. She was promoted to Harper's editor in chief of the Department of Books for Boys and Girls in 1940 after Raymond adopted a baby girl and announced her retirement. In 1960, she became Harper's first female vice president.
Nordstrom disliked the genteel, sentimental tone of American children's literature and sought to bring children crimes and punishments of fellow miscreants with books like
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...
's ''
Where the Wild Things Are
''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...
'' (1963) and
Louise Fitzhugh
Louise Fitzhugh (October 5, 1928 – November 19, 1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, known best for the novel ''Harriet the Spy'' and its sequels, '' The Long Secret'' and ''Sport''.
Biography
Early life
Fitzhugh ...
's ''
Harriet the Spy
''Harriet the Spy'' is a children's novel written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh that was published in 1964. It has been called "a milestone in children's literature" and a "classic". In the U.S., it ranked number 12 in the 50 Best Books fo ...
'' and ''
The Long Secret.'' Her unorthodox outlook on publishing and lack of educational pedigree is best summed up by her motto “good books for bad children."
For Nordstrom and her authors and illustrators, it was felt that the best book results when author and illustrator have a good working relationship, which gave way to partnerships between
Ruth Krauss
Ruth Ida Krauss (July 25, 1901 – July 10, 1993) was an American writer of children's books, including '' The Carrot Seed'', and of theatrical poems for adult readers. Many of her books are still in print.
Early life and education
Ruth Krauss ...
and Maurice Sendak and
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for ...
and
Clement Hurd.
Many of her colleagues and competition thought her books were ahead of their time. Nordstrom edited some of the milestones of children's literature, including
E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
's ''
Stuart Little
''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and it is now widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the subsequently award-winnin ...
'' (1945) and ''
Charlotte's Web'' (1952), Margaret Wise Brown's ''
Goodnight Moon
''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story.
This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...
'' (1947),
Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip '' Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harold'' series of boo ...
's ''
Harold and the Purple Crayon
''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' is a 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. Published by Harper Collins Publishers, it is Johnson's most popular book, and has led to a series of other books, as well as many adaptations.
Plot
The protagonist, ...
'' (1955),
Syd Hoff
Syd Hoff (September 4, 1912 – May 12, 2004) was an American cartoonist and children's book author, best known for his classic early reader '' Danny and the Dinosaur''. His cartoons appeared in a multitude of genres, including advertising co ...
's ''
Danny and the Dinosaur
''Danny and the Dinosaur'' is a children's picture book by Syd Hoff, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1958. It has sold over ten million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. The book inspired six other sequels by Syd Hoff. ...
'' (1958),
Karla Kuskin's ''Roar and More'' (1956), and
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...
's ''
Where the Sidewalk Ends
''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was published by Harper and Row Publishers. The book's poems address many common childhood concerns and also present purely fancif ...
'' (1974).
Other authors she edited included
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...
,
Ruth Krauss
Ruth Ida Krauss (July 25, 1901 – July 10, 1993) was an American writer of children's books, including '' The Carrot Seed'', and of theatrical poems for adult readers. Many of her books are still in print.
Early life and education
Ruth Krauss ...
,
Charlotte Zolotow
Charlotte Zolotow (born Charlotte Gertrude Shapiro; June 26, 1915 – November 19, 2013) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children. She wrote about 70 picture book texts.
The writers she edited include Paul Fl ...
,
John Steptoe
John Steptoe (September 14, 1950 – August 28, 1989) was an author and illustrator for children’s books dealing with aspects of the African-American experience. He is best known for ''Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters'', which was acknowledged ...
,
M.E. Kerr
Marijane Agnes Meaker (May 27, 1927 – November 21, 2022) was an American writer who, along with Tereska Torrès, Tereska Torres, was credited with launching the lesbian pulp fiction genre, the only accessible novels on that theme in the 1950s.
...
, and
Arnold Lobel.
Harper's books received three
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...
s and two
Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
s during her tenure.
Nordstrom stepped down as publisher in 1973, but continued on as senior editor with her own
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
, Ursula Nordstrom Books, until 1979.
She was
succeeded at Harper's by her protege, author Charlotte Zolotow, who began her career as Nordstrom's
stenographer.
Death and legacy
In 1972, Nordstrom was a recipient of the
Women's National Book Association's Constance Lindsay Skinner Award. In 1980, she was the first woman and children's publisher to receive the
Association of American Publishers
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal, and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercia ...
' Curtis Benjamin Award.
Nordstrom died in 1988, aged 78, from
ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...
. With her at the time of death was her longtime companion, Mary Griffith. In 1989, she was posthumously inducted into the Publishing Hall of Fame.
In 1998, Nordstrom's personal correspondence was published as ''Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom'' (illustrated by Maurice Sendak), edited by
Leonard S. Marcus
Leonard S. Marcus (born December 11, 1950) is an American author and expert on English language children's literature. Marcus has been a critic for several publications including ''Horn Book'' and the New York Times Book review. Born and raised i ...
.
Publishing highlights
Bibliography
* ''The Secret Language'', 1960
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordstrom, Ursula
1910 births
1988 deaths
People from Manhattan
American book publishers (people)
American book editors
American children's writers
Children's book publishers
American LGBT writers
Deaths from ovarian cancer
Deaths from cancer in Connecticut
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century LGBT people