Jan Wahl

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Wahl entered the world on April 1, 1933, to a physician and his wife. Creative and imaginative, Wahl played the piano, had a traveling puppet show, and created his own magic act. After some time he began writing and collecting films. Graduation from high school led him to Cornell University where he produced a play and gained encouragement from a creative writing class. Determined to write, he penned stories for magazines before graduating with a bachelor's degree.

Having received a Fulbright Fellowship for Folklore and Folk Literature, Wahl traveled to Denmark to study at the University of Copenhagan. There he worked in film and recorded the final novel for mystery writer Isak Dinesen before her death. Upon returning to the United States, Wahl attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to earn his master's degree in the arts. Though he had experience with writing, numerous editors consistently rejected his children's stories. Eventually Pleasant Fieldmouse saw publication and since then over 100 books of Wahl's books have been published, many with famous illustrators such as Maurice Sendak, Garth Williams, and Mercer Mayer.

Living in Toledo, Ohio, Wahl continues to write and to talk about writing at conferences, at workshops, and in schools.

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