Nancy Tilly papers

Nancy McFadden Tilly was born on June 8, 1935 in Atlanta. She is married to Eben Tilly Jr. and they have one son, John Eben Bradford (Jeb) Tilly. Tilly received a B.A. (with honors) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957, and an M.A. from the same institution in 1958. Tilly continued her education at the University of Chicago, receiving an M.A. in 1960. She taught English and humanities at the City Colleges of Chicago from 1961 to 1973 and creative writing in elementary schools, 1977-82. Tilly began working on Golden Girl during a writing course in the late 1970s. Vacations in Beaufort, N.C. inspired her to create a coastal setting for the novel, which was published in 1985 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. The book won the 1986 North Carolina American Association of University Women Award for the best book for juveniles by a North Carolina writer. She has also won awards for her short stories, including second prize from the Carolina Quarterly in 1979 for "Belle of the Ball" and for "Marina Grande" in 1986 and first prize from the North Carolina Writers' Conference in 1979 for "Two Women." Tilly also contributes articles, book reviews, stories, and interviews to magazines and newspapers. [For further biographical information, see Something about the Author (Detroit: Gale Research), volume 62, pages 173-175.]