Nancy Huddleston Packer (May 2, 1925 – April 1, 2025) was an American writer of short fiction and memoir, who was the Melvin and Bill Lane Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Early life and education

Packer was born on May 2, 1925 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where her father,

George Huddleston George Huddleston (November 11, 1869 – February 29, 1960) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, father of George Huddleston, Jr. Life and career Huddleston was born on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, the son of Nancy Emeline (Sherrill) ...

, was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, representing

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

’s 9th

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

. She was one of five children, and as a child lived in both Washington and

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. She graduated from

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SA ...

in 1945, and gained a master's degree in theology from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1947. She then studied creative writing with Hudson Strode at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Career

Packer's first published work appeared in

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

in 1953, and other work appeared in

Dude ''Dude'' is Regional vocabularies of American English, American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous ...

. In 1957, she married Herbert L. Packer, and moved to California with him when he was appointed to Stanford University as a professor of law. She was awarded a fellowship at Stanford University's creative writing center for 1959-60, and studied writing with

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, writer, environmentalist, and historian. He was often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award ...

, before joining the faculty in 1961 as a professor of English and creative writing. Her short stories appeared in the O. Henry Award Prize Stories in 1969 and 1981. From 1989-1993 she directed the Stanford University program in creative writing. Among her students were

Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is Professor in th ...

and

Ethan Canin Ethan Andrew Canin (born July 19, 1960) is an American author, educator, and physician. He is a member of the faculty of the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. Canin was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while his parents were vacatio ...

. She served as fiction jury chair for the 2002

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

, and continued to teach creative writing through Stanford Continuing Studies.

Personal life and death

Packer's literary accomplishments include three short story collections and a memoir, published between 1976 and 1997. She retired from Stanford University in 1993, having served as the director of the Creative Writing Program and held the esteemed Melvin and Bill Lane Professorship in the Humanities. She resided in Palo Alto, California. Her children

George Packer George Packer (born August 13, 1960) is an American journalist, novelist, and playwright. He is best known for his writings about U.S. foreign policy for ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Atlantic'' and for his book '' The Assassins' Gate: America in ...

and

Ann Packer Ann Elizabeth Packer MBE (born 8 March 1942) is an English former sprinter, hurdler and long jumper. She won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver in the 400 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Biography In 1959 Packer won the E ...

also pursue writing careers. Her husband died in 1972. Packer died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

on April 1, 2025, at the age of 99.

Bibliography

*1976 ''The Short Story: An Introduction'' (with Wilfred Stone and Robert Hoopes) *1976 ''Small Moments'' *1986 ''Writing Worth Reading: A Practical Guide'' (with John Timpane) *1988 ''In My Father's House: Tales of an Unconformable Man'' *1989 ''The Women Who Walk'' *1997 ''Jealous-Hearted Me'' *2012 ''Old Ladies''

References

External links

*
Nancy Huddleston Packer: An Oral History
" Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2012. *
Nancy Huddleston Packer: An Oral History
" Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2014. *
Nancy Packer: An Oral History
" Faculty Senate Oral History Project, Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Nancy Huddleston 1925 births 2025 deaths Writers from Washington, D.C. Writers from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American women writers American women short story writers 20th-century American short story writers Birmingham–Southern College alumni University of Chicago alumni Stanford University faculty 21st-century American women