Ann Head

Ann Head (née Anne Wales Christensen) (1915 – 1968) was an American fiction writer whose work was regularly published in magazines including Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, McCall's, Ladies Home Journal, and others during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

She wrote at least nine novels and two serial novels that were published in magazines, four of which were also published as books, and at least 50 published short stories. Her most famous work, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, a novel about a teen pregnancy, was made into a TV movie and stayed in print for four decades.

She was a mentor to novelist Pat Conroy after teaching him when he was a senior in high school.

Early life and education Head was born on October 30, 1915, in Beaufort, South Carolina. Head grew up in Beaufort and attended the school founded by her paternal grandmother, Abbie Holmes Christensen, Her grandfather, Niels Christensen,

Head had three siblings — a younger sister, Andrea (Andy) Christensen Rawson, She was already working as a freelance writer when she met her first husband, engineer and inventor Howard Head, in December 1938. They married on February 26, 1939, and had a daughter. Head divorced her husband in 1944, and later married physician Stanley F. Morse, with whom she had a second daughter.

Head wrote short stories, The novel is written in the first person, from the point of view of Janet Blair, a mother of four children, the oldest of whom (David) is away at college, and writes to say he is bringing a girl (Angela) home. It was first published as an adult novel, and shortly afterwards marketed towards adolescents. In the early 1970s, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones was included in the curricula and libraries of some schools, and was popular as an ' "adolescent novel" ... dealing with adolescent problems.' There were some calls to remove it from schools due to its subject matter. It was republished by Signet Books and was in print until recently.

Head taught a creative writing class at Beaufort High School, where she mentored a student named Pat Conroy, who later became a famous novelist. The two spent much time together, and Conroy's autobiography included a chapter about Ann titled "Cookbook (My First Novelist)", noting, “Every time I sell a book, I put a rose on her grave.”

Death Head died suddenly May 7, 1968, after a cerebral aneurysm at age 52. She was buried the next day at the Parish Church of St. Helena in Beaufort. Always In August (Doubleday, 1961) Everybody Adored Cara (Doubleday, 1963) Mr. And Mrs. Bo Jo Jones (Putnam, 1967)

Novels (Published in magazines) "Farewell to Innocence" (Redbook, September 1951) "All Through the Night" (McCall's, September 1953) "A Little World All Her Own" (McCall's, November 1954) "What Do They See in Each Other?' (Companion, December 1956) "David’s New Girl (Fair With Rain)" (Ladies Home Journal, April 1957) "I Am Watching You" (McCall's, November 1957) "Always In August" (McCall's, August 1961) "Everybody Adored Cara" (Redbook, April 1963) "Mr. And Mrs. Bo Jo Jones" (Good Housekeeping, October 1966) "The Impossible Journey" (Cosmopolitan, February 1945) "The Lady and the Guy" (McCall's, July 1945) "The Captain’s Wife" (McCall's, September 1945) "The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring" (Cosmopolitan, November 1945) "Only To Return" (McCall's, November 1945) "Out of Order" (Cosmopolitan, March 1946) "Found: A Woman" (Good Housekeeping, July 1947) "New Memory" (W.H. Companion, May 1948) "This Stranger, His Wife" (McCall's, February 1950) "Answer to Three Prayers" (McCall's, November 1950) "The Inner Circle" (McCall's, February 1951) "The Honeymoon Must Wait" (McCall's, January 1953) "Widow’s Mite" (Cosmopolitan, January 1953) "Only Once a Bride" (McCall's, June 1953) "John Says" (Redbook, January 1954) "And No One Answered" (McCall's, July 1955) "Since You Went Away" (Britannia and Eve, September 1955) "Let the Bell Ring" (McCall's, January 1959) "Portrait of Elizabeth" (Good Housekeeping, October 1959) "The End of Innocence (Lie)" (Good Housekeeping, October 1967)

Serials "The Cynthia Legend" " (McCall's, Part I, September 1952; Part II, October 1952) "House of Terror" (Saturday Evening Post, Part 1, Jan 16, 1954; Part 2, Jan 23, 1954; Part 3, Jan 30, 1954)