Gail Haley Oral History Interviews

Gail Einhart Haley, the daughter of George Einhart and Louise Bell, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1939, and grew up in the rural Shuffletown area, just outside of the city. Her father was the art director of the Charlotte Observer and her mother was also an artist. In addition to an interest in art, she also learned about printing techniques, including traditional block printing, and color separation. Later, her interests took her into costume design and puppetry; knowledge she would employ in illustrating her books.

Haley made her literary debut by self-publishing her first book, My Kingdom for a Dragon, in 1962, financing its publication with a bank loan. Her first notable success in writing children's literature was A Story, A Story, which won her the famed Caldecott Medal in 1971. Later, while living in England, she wrote The Post Office Cat, for which she won the Greenaway Award in 1976. Part of Haley's success in writing children's literature is the didactic nature of her stories. To date, she has written over forty books.

Haley, who has traveled extensively, and lived in the Caribbean, England and Asia, derives her literary inspiration from the places she visits. She is one of the very few authors to win both the British and American awards for illustration.

She now resides at Blowing Rock, North Carolina. She is the author-in-residence at Appalachian State University.