Jo-Ann Mapson (born March 29, 1952) is an American author. She is the author of twelve works of fiction, set mainly in the American Southwest.

Biography

She was born on March 29, 1952, in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, and now lives in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

. She attended Johnston College at the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

, graduated with a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from

California State University Long Beach California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the sout ...

, and received her M.F.A. in both Poetry and Prose from

Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

in 1992. Mapson’s novels include series books—''Hank & Chloe; Loving Chloe; Bad Girl Creek; Along Came Mary; Goodbye, Earl'', as well as stand-alone novels. Their subject matter concerns women, friendship, love and child rearing and their families. An example of this is the 1996 novel, ''Shadow Ranch: A Novel'' which focuses on the women of the "Carpenter Clan" and the so-called curse which effects all members of the family over several generations. It shows the women overcoming the problems by love, dedication and a focus on the Carpenter Clan. Her second novel, ''Blue Rodeo'', was adapted into a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television film of the same name, starring

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

. In 2006

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

published ''The Owl & Moon Café''. She has taught English and Creative Writing at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

University of California Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

extension,

California State University Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

extension, Matanuska-Susitna College and now teaches in the M.F.A. Program in Writing at the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

. She is also a graduate advisor for

Prescott College Prescott College is a private college in Prescott, Arizona, United States. History Prescott College was founded in 1966 after a conference titled "Emergence of a Concept". Conveners Charles Parker and the Ford Foundation brought together leade ...

’s MAP Program. Her former writing students (now published) include: Christina Adams, Judy Alexander,

Earlene Fowler Earlene Fowler (born 1954) is an American novelist and the author of a number of mystery novels set in the fictional Californian city of San Celina. She was raised in La Puente, California. Earlene has written 15 books in the ''Benni Harper'' ...

, Judi Hendricks, Joyce Weatherford. Her papers are being collected in

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

’s Twentieth Century Authors Archive in "The Jo-Ann Mapson Collection".

Bibliography

* ''Spooking the Horses'' (poems) chapbook * ''Fault Line'' (stories) (1990) * ''Hank & Chloe'' (1993) * ''Blue Rodeo'' (1994) * ''Shadow Ranch'' (1996) * ''Loving Chloe'' (1998) * ''The Wilder Sisters'' (1999) * ''Bad Girl Creek'' (2001) * ''Along Came Mary'' (2003) * ''Goodbye, Earl'' (2004) * ''The Owl & Moon Café'' (2006) * ''Solomon's Oak'' (2010) * ''Finding Casey'' (2012) * ''Owen's Daughter'' (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mapson, Joann 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women novelists California State University, Fullerton faculty California State University, Long Beach alumni Living people Writers from Pasadena, California People from Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska University of Alaska Anchorage faculty University of California, Irvine faculty University of Redlands alumni Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni Writers from Anchorage, Alaska 1952 births American women academics