Ann Nolan Clark

Ann Nolan Clark (Anna Marie Nolan on December 6, 1896, in Las Vegas, New Mexico - 1995) is an United States writer.

Clark graduated from Highlands University in Las Vegas at age 21, and married Thomas Patrick Clark on August 6, 1919. They gave birth to an only son, Thomas Patrick, Jr., who later died in World War II.

She began her career teaching English at the Highlands University. However, in the early 1920’s, she transferred to a job teaching Native American children for the Tesugue Pueblo Indians, which lasted for 25 years. Unfortunately, Clark found that the Tesugue School was dreadfully underfunded, and couldn’t afford any substantial instructional material. Therefore, she decided to write her own books for the 1st to 4th grade one-room schoolhouse. Between 1940 and 1951, the US Office of Indian Affairs published 15 of her books, all relating to her experiences with the Native Americans.

In 1945, the Institute for Inter-American Affairs sent to live and travel for 5 years in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Those experiences led her to write books such as Magic Money, Looking-for-Something, and The Secret of the Andes, which won the 1953 Newbery Medal.

Several other awards she has received are the Catholic Library Association’s 1963 Regina Medal, and the US Office of Indian Affair’s 1962 Distinguished Service Award. Clark died in 1995, leaving behind 31 well-written books, countless stories in magazines such as the New Mexico Magazine, and a new glance at Indian culture.