Jane Yolen: Acclaimed Author, Prolific Storyteller
For the past 50 years, internationally acclaimed author, Jane Yolen, has been writing in her farmhouse in Hatfield. Her writing room within the house may have changed a few times over the years, but the 14-acre farm has remained the primary place where she has conducted the business of writing and publishing more than 400 books.
“We call it the Magic Kingdom. Just walking around you can find inspiration. If you walk outside for an hour, you should be able to come back with ten ideas. If you don’t, you’re not paying attention to the world around you.”
Over the years, Jane has clearly found many great ideas to inspire her writing. Her books, stories, and poems have won the highest literary honors and awards including the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, and many more. Her novel, The Devil’s Arithmetic, was adapted into a film starring Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy.
Six colleges and universities have given her honorary doctorates for her body of work and Newsweek called her the Hans Christian Anderson of American children’s literature. Despite all the accolades, Jane says she is simply a storyteller.
“I may have some notoriety, but I am not a legend. Call me a writer, a lyricist, a storyteller. When I write, I am not setting out to be famous. I am setting out to tell a great story.”
Jane came to the 413 to attend Smith College where she honed her literary skills, winning several awards for her writing despite being a self-described “middle-of-the-class” student. After college, she held editorial positions at various magazines and publishers in New York City while working on her own writing. She sold her first published book, Pirates in Petticoats, on her 22nd birthday.
After meeting her husband, David Stemple, and touring Europe for a year, the couple returned to Western Massachusetts (after conceiving their first child in a VW camper bus in Paris, France). They bought a little house in Conway and David took a job in the computer center at UMass. After a brief stint in the Boston area, they returned to the 413 and bought the farmhouse in Hatfield. Built in 1896 by a local tobacco farmer, the house still had an old three-seater outhouse when they moved in.
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye
Illustration by Mark Teague
Jane found the 413 to be a great home base for her writing career with its robust academic and artistic communities and its easy access to editors and publishers in Boston and New York. She also enjoyed the natural beauty of the region and the many different wildlife that would pass through the property.
And so, she wrote. And wrote and wrote and wrote. She wrote children’s books, more than 60 novels (many for adults), poems, short stories, and more. She wrote Owl Moon and the How Do Dinosaurs… series. She wrote Sister Emily's Lightship, The Emperor and the Kite, and the Commander Toad series.
In addition to her 400 published books, Jane estimates that she has at least another 135 that are finished but unsold. Many of them have been sent out to publishers for consideration. Recently, she sold nine books and won two major awards in a single day. When asked about her secret to success, Jane says the most important thing is “B.I.C. – butt in chair.”
“I love writing. The book and I are together. Sometimes we’re at odds, but I have to listen because sometimes the book is right.”
Owl Moon, one of her best-selling books, took 20 years to write because she just couldn’t find the voice. Other books she’s written in 20 minutes.
“You have to sit and write every single day. If you don’t, your muse will go find someone else.”
Jane has written a poem a day for the past 14 years and sends them out to a list of more than 1000 subscribers. Another important part of her success was learning very early on the difference between writing a book and wanting to have a lasting career.
“Book publishing is a business. So, I worked hard to learn that business. I kept track of publishers and editors.”
While she follows the trends and does her research to see what’s getting the attention of publishers, her goal is to stay ahead of the curve because if you’re behind it trying to catch up, you’re probably too late.
“As a writer, you want to make the fad, not follow it. I want to know what story ideas have never crossed an editor’s desk that they would be interested in. That’s how I got the idea for Not All Princesses Dress in Pink, a book I co-authored with my daughter, Heidi.”
Jane’s passion and talent has turned writing into something of a family business. All three of her children—Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple—and two of her grandchildren are published authors. Heidi, lives next door in a house that David designed before he passed in 2006, after a long battle with cancer.
In addition to speaking engagements and readings, Jane has started writers’ groups, and she and Heidi host a bootcamp for published picture book authors.
“I feel honor bound to pay it forward.”
Jane’s tips for aspiring writers:
Sit down and write every day (“B.I.C. – Butt in Chair”).
Learn to type.
Pay attention to the world. That’s where your ideas will come from.
Don’t be afraid to do something that’s never been done before. Also, don’t be afraid to do something better than it’s been done before.
Go to local workshops, events, and readings.
Join groups and professional associations.
Learn the business, because it is a business.
Stay ahead of the curve. “Make the fad, don’t follow it.”
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