Jane O'Connor

New York Times bestselling author Jane O'Connor and her husband Jim live in New York City. They have two grown sons, and they have a dog, Arrow. O'Connor has spent the majority of her life as an editor. She took a job immediately after graduation as the assistant children's book editor at a small family publishing house. O'Connor has been editing children's books for over thirty years. Her writing, since then, has taken a big chunk of her life, so she is now editing part time. O'Connor says she treasures the connection to other writers, illustrators, and the books she edits too much to give up editing altogether. She could not imagine only writing and not editing. 

Jane O'Connor has written many books over the span of her career. Her most famous being the Fancy Nancy series. She has written a few adult novels, some children's novels, and many children's books. Her first children's book was actually Fancy Nancy. In an interview that I read, O'Connor said, "Practically everything I write comes from something that happened to me or my kids when they were little" (patricianewman.com). O'Connor's first novel, entitled, Yours Till Niagara Falls, Abby, was written in 1979. It is a novel based on a girl (O'Connor) who is at camp who has to deal with being homesick, "best friendless", and with nasty bunkmates. Ready, Set, Skip!, is about a little girl who can do anything, skate, twirl, burp, even somersault, but she just can't skip. O'Connor says, "I was a skip-challenged little girl" (patricianewman.com). Another book, Nina, Nina Ballerina, is about a little girl who performed in a dance recital with a cast on her arm. The book, Splat!, is about O'Connor's "gentle-souled son" with a gigantic water gun. 

O'Connor has written some novels for adults, some chapter books for children, but she is most known for the series that is, Fancy Nancy. O'Connor has said that she was not the girliest of girls. She said that she often found herself choosing to play at the park, play board games, or ride her bike rather than playing with baby dolls. However, O'Connor said that every Sunday afternoon her grandmother and great-aunts would come for a visit. Just before their arrival, she said she put on her pink tutu complete with pink rosebuds and sequins, she wore a red satin cape, and a pair of her mother's high heels. She would often entertain her guests with a dance. Jane O'Connor was Fancy Nancy long before there was Fancy Nancy. O'Connor said that another part of her inspiration was her friend Susan's mother. O'Connor's mother was very...plain. She often found herself pushing her mother to be more like Susan's mother. Susan's mother was fancy! Susan's mother wore pink iridescent lipstick, blue eye shadow, and LOTS of jewelry. In several books of the Fancy Nancy collection, Nancy tries to "fancy-up" her mother. In fact, the book, Fancy Nancy:Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day is all about giving her mother a make over.