Jane Yolen, 1939-2026

Last edited Thu Jun 11, 2026, 08:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Author Jane Yolen, 87, died peacefully in her home, surrounded by family, in Hatfield MA on June 11, 2026.

Jane Hyatt Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City NY. She graduated Smith College with a BA in 1960, at which time she was already writing poetry and articles, and received a master’s in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1978. Between degrees, in 1962, she married David W. Stemple, and they were married for 44 years before he died of cancer in 2006. She gained attention as a writer through children’s book Pirates in Petticoats (1963), published on her 22nd birthday and went on to write over 450 books and a monumental oeuvre of short fiction and poetry. From 1986 to 1988, she was president of the Science Fiction Writers Association and later was named a Damon Knight Grand Master. She ran her own young adult fiction imprint at Harcourt Brace from 1990 to 1996, and she was on the board of directors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for over 25 years. She lived in Western Massachusetts and had a house in Scotland which she would visit for a part of the year.

[more at link]

https://locusmag.com/2026/06/jane-yolen-1939-2026/