Heather Henson was born and raised in Danville, Kentucky, a small town in the heart of the Bluegrass. She grew up in a summerstock theater her father founded in 1950. As a girl she dreamed of becoming an actress, but after moving to New York City to attend the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Social Research, she found herself drawn to books and writing. "Books and stories were always a huge part of my life," Ms. Henson says. "My mother read to me every night and my father told me 'one minute stories' before I fell asleep." For many years, Ms. Henson lived in Brooklyn and worked as an editor of books for young readers at a major publishing house. She recently returned to her home state in order to focus on her own writing, which has always been strongly influenced by her Kentucky roots. That Book Woman was inspired by old black and white photographs of women on horseback Ms. Henson came upon while researching her first picture book, Angel Coming. "I had never learned of the Pack Horse Librarians of eastern Kentucky in any history class," Ms. Henson says, "but I became fascinated by these 'book women' as they were called because they were so tough. They carried books by horse or by mule straight up the mountainside in all kinds of weather, bringing the gift of reading to the people of Appalachia."
Ms. Henson's first novel for young adults, Making the Run, was published by Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins Publishers. It was chosen as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Her next novel for middle grade readers, Here's how I see it/Here's how it is, will be published by Atheneum in 2009, as will another picture book, Grumpy Grandpa.
Ms. Henson now lives on a farm near Danville with her husband, Tim Ungs, a son, Daniel and twins, Lila and Theo.
