Shelby Reed was born in 1931 in Marion, Kentucky, and raised in Kentucky and Texas. She displayed an early talent for writing, winning first place in the Texas Interscholastic League ready-writing contest her senior year in high school. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin in 1953, she married attorney Robert Hearon and turned to raising a family. She was active in the Austin community, serving as president of the PTA, Junior League of Austin, and Planned Parenthood.
In 1962, Hearon began writing fiction, feeling that she had
Hearon's writing focuses on women, often from an upper middle-class background, who are searching for their own identity and voice. Most of her novels have some connection to Texas. The ties of family and friends, a focus on appearance versus reality, and an interest in science further enhance Hearon's plots. A meticulous writer, Hearon researches her topics thoroughly and makes considerable revisions before submitting a finished manuscript.
Hearon's skill as a writer has been recognized with awards, grants, and teaching opportunities. She is a five-time recipient of the NEA/PEN Syndication short story prize, and has twice won the Texas Institute of Letters fiction prize. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship for Fiction in 1982, a NEA Creative Writing Fellowship in 1983, an Ingram Merrill grant in 1987, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters fiction award in 1990 for
Hearon currently lives in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband, cardiovascular physiologist, William Halpern. She is the mother of Reed Hearon, a chef, and Dr. Anne Rambo, a family therapist.
The Shelby Hearon papers contain manuscripts, galley proofs, research materials, notes, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and other printed material, and are arranged in two series: I. Books, 1966-1996 (35 boxes), which contains research notes, manuscripts, and promotional files for all of Hearon's books published between 1968 and 1994; and II. Working Files, 1968-96 (6 boxes), which contains a broad assortment of files pertaining to other aspects of Hearon's writing.
Hearon's literary career is well documented in this collection. The files trace Hearon's emerging voice as a novelist, beginning with her talks to womens' groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s focusing on the importance of taking time away from family for one's self, and following her growth into a full-time working writer. Besides books, Hearon's short stories, articles, and book reviews are collected, highlighted by two unpublished stories and one unpublished article from 1974. Also of interest are the files devoted to Hearon's single work of non-fiction, a co-authored autobiography of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. Non-manuscript material in Series II spotlights Hearon's other literary activities, such as grant requests, lectures, and correspondence pertaining to new editions of her books. Taken as a whole, the collection offers an overview of the career of a late 20th-century midlist writer.
The collection also reveals Hearon's working patterns, illustrating the attention to detail that characterizes all aspects of her writing, from her earliest research, which includes traveling to the place about which she is writing, collecting newspapers, photographs, conversational tidbits, and history, through her many manuscript revisions, following a manuscript from its outline and early notes to galley proofs. Titles are further enriched by the presence of files documenting the promotion and reception of each title, from clippings, to correspondence with the publisher, to fan mail. The researcher should be aware that the materials in this collection contain only a small amount of personal information, much of which must be inferred from documents pertaining to her professional career.
The papers contain a mix of original folders and files created from loose materials by the archivist. Folders with titles in single quotes denote Hearon's original files, whereas those without generally contain materials grouped by subject by the cataloger. The original files are marked by a fluidity of title; Hearon often started a folder for one reason and added related materials later. As a result, date ranges in single folders can be very broad. Additionally, related material is often split up. Researchers may want to check a number of different files for materials relating to the same subject.
Similarly, correspondence can be found throughout the collection, in addition to the files devoted to correspondence in Series II. An index at the end of the finding aid gives the box and folder number for each correspondent; due to its scattered nature, all of Hearon's outgoing correspondence is indexed as well. Of particular note are the files in both series for Hearon's agent Wendy Weil and her editors Judith Jones, Sally Arteseros, and Thomas A. Stewart. Pertaining mainly to the actual publication process, the letters also document the agent's and editor's initial reaction to a new manuscript, and their ideas for marketing and promotion of a title. Additionally, because Hearon developed warm relationships with these figures, their letters exchanged personal as well as professional information. Correspondence with contemporary writers of note such as Allan Gurganus, Sue Kaufman, Reynolds Price, and Anne Tyler is present in this collection, but the letters tend to be single formal exchanges. Far more interesting are the correspondents to whom Hearon wrote while researching her books, such as J. Eddie Weems and Ross Gandy, who give her background information on, respectively, Waco, Texas, and Mexico City after the earthquake.
Additional notes, drafts, and clippings relating to
Purchase, 1994-96 (R13123, R13723)
Open for research
Jennifer Peters, 1996
This series contains files pertaining to each of Hearon's titles from 1968 to 1994, ending with her book
Under each title, the files are sorted into three categories: the first contains research notes and materials, arranged alphabetically by topic; the second includes manuscript drafts, arranged chronologically; and the last group, also arranged alphabetically, follow the book's publication and promotion. The files pertaining to research comprise a wide assortment of materials, and reveal the considerable effort spent by Hearon on background information. Research files contain clippings and articles on themes and subjects of the book, photographs of locations used in the book, and the earliest plot outlines. Scribbled notes on napkins, envelopes, and other scraps of paper document that inspiration often occurred away from Hearon's typewriter. In a few cases, such as the files for
Each book is represented by at least a few folders of manuscripts. For a very few titles, such as
Many of Hearon's books went through title changes before their publication, and working titles are documented in this series.
Within the files pertaining to the publication and promotion of a title are clippings; correspondence with publishers, editors, and agents; fan mail; files pertaining to paperback rights; and, in the cases of
This series contains working files that follow Hearon's writing career. Arranged alphabetically by subject, the files contain manuscript drafts, correspondence, clippings, forms, financial information, and other printed materials. The collection includes numerous correspondence files, mostly sorted by Hearon, that contain letters from contemporary writers, although they are routine exchanges. Also found is correspondence with former writing students of Hearon's. As in Series I, the bulk of correspondence originates in the offices of Hearon's publishers and her literary agent. Also found in this series are a number of files pertaining to requests for grant funds by Hearon, which are notable because they show works in progress, and offer biographical information. Additionally, the series documents Hearon's many lectures, readings, writing workshops, and other activities within the writing community. All together, these files offer an overview of Hearon's professional activities and her participation in the literary community.
Of particular importance is the document box of Hearon's short
works, including articles, short fiction, and book reviews. While some are only
clippings, others are in manuscript form, including two unpublished stories and
one unpublished article from 1974. Also of note is an early file labeled