Ann Grifalconi

Ann Grifalconi (September 22, 1929 – February 19, 2020) She worked for several years in advertising and display, then taught art and design at the High School of Fashion Industries before leaving to become a full-time illustrator and author.

Grifalconi is the author of several books for children, including The Village of Round and Square Houses (a runner-up for the 1987 Caldecott Medal for illustration, her work) and Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me (illustrated by Jerry Pinkney). As an illustrator she has worked with authors including Elizabeth Bishop, Lucille Clifton, Walter Dean Myers, and Tillie S. Pine. She shared a Coretta Scott King Award with Clifton for Everrett Anderson's Goodbye; The Jazz Man, which she illustrated for Mary Hays Weik, was a 1967 Newbery Honor book and an ALA Notable book.

Though Grifalconi is better known as an author and illustrator, other work demonstrates feminist service within historically male-dominated institutions including publishing and finance. She was the president of publishing company Greyfalcon House, Inc, which published "Oreo" by Fran Ross in 1974. Ross's only published work, "Oreo" remained obscure until discovery and republication in the 2000s and has since been described as "ahead of its time,"