Nancy Huddleston Packer

Nancy Huddleston Packer (May 2, 1925 – April 1, 2025) was an American writer of short fiction and memoir, who was the Melvin and Bill Lane Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University.

Early life and education Packer was born on May 2, 1925 in Washington, D.C., where her father, George Huddleston, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Alabama’s 9th congressional district. She was one of five children, and as a child lived in both Washington and Birmingham, Alabama. She then studied creative writing with Hudson Strode at the University of Alabama.

Career Packer's first published work appeared in Harper's in 1953, and other work appeared in Dude. and studied writing with Wallace Stegner, before joining the faculty in 1961 as a professor of English and creative writing. and 1981. From 1989-1993 she directed the Stanford University program in creative writing. Among her students were Michael Cunningham She served as fiction jury chair for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and continued to teach creative writing through Stanford Continuing Studies.

Personal life and death Packer's literary accomplishments include three short story collections and a memoir, published between 1976 and 1997. She retired from Stanford University in 1993, having served as the director of the Creative Writing Program and held the esteemed Melvin and Bill Lane Professorship in the Humanities. She resided in Palo Alto, California. Her children George Packer and Ann Packer also pursue writing careers. Her husband died in 1972.