Collection View
This series contains materials related to Barron's books, including handwritten and typed drafts, concept summaries, author notes and outlines, original artwork and maps, and galleys, along with related editorial correspondence, book covers, promotional materials, book posters and displays, and copies of published books, including international editions from Europe, Asia, and South America. Barron's early drafts are most often written by hand on notepads, accompanied by later typed drafts. Materials are comprehensive, pertaining to Barron's published fiction and nonfiction writings, as well as some unpublished and early works. While promotional materials related to each book are present in files on that book, there is also a file group of promotional materials and awards related to Barron's writings in general.
Materials are grouped by title of work, preceded by a file group of Barron's unpublished early writings and followed by a file group of related promotional materials and awards.
"Shadowdance", 1975
"The Idiot's Odyssey", 1965
"The Magical Milkweed Seed", 1978
Heartlight, 1988-1990
The Ancient One, 1990-2016
The Ancient One: Original Maps, 1991
The Ancient One: Bound Galley, 1992
The Ancient One: Play, 2001
The Ancient One: Books, 1992-2016
The Merlin Effect, 1993-1994
Merlin Saga, 1994-2021
The Seven Songs: Original Concept Summary, Outline, Editorial Correspondence, and Author Notes, 1997
The Seven Songs: Bound Galley, 1996
The Seven Songs: Books, 1997-2012
Ultimate Magic: Original Concept Summary, Outline, Editorial Correspondence, and Author Notes, 2009
Ultimate Magic: Bound Galley, 2009
Ultimate Magic: Books, 2010-2012
The Great Tree of Avalon: "The Seven Root Realms of the Great Tree of Avalon," Original Maps, 2003
Atlantis Saga, 2012-2017
Atlantis Rising: Original Concept Summary, Outline, Editorial Correspondence, and Author Notes, 2012
Atlantis Rising: Original Maps, 2012
Atlantis Rising: Bound Galley, 2012
Atlantis Rising: Books, 2013-2014
Chapter Books, 2000-2018
Tree Girl, 2000-2018
Books to Inspire, 2001-2016
The Hero's Trail: True Stories of Young People to Inspire Courage, Compassion, and Hope, 2001-2016
The Hero's Trail: True Stories of Young People to Inspire Courage, Compassion, and Hope: Books, 2015
High as a Hawk: Original Concept Summary, Outline, Editorial Correspondence, and Author Notes, 2003
High as a Hawk: Bound Galley, 2003
High as a Hawk: Books, 2004
High as a Hawk: Books, 2018
Ghost Hands, 2010-2011
Nature Books, 1992-1995
The de Grummond Medallion, 2011
Book Posters, 1990s-2016
German Publisher Catalogs, 2003-2004
Japanese Book Publicity, 2007
This series consists of international editorial correspondence regarding the publication of translations of Barron's books in Asia and Europe. Individual correspondents are listed at the file-level.
Arranged alphabetically by country.
Brazil, 2016
China, 2013-2015
Croatia, 2011
France, 2012-2018
Germany, 2000-2018
Japan, 2004-2011
Korea, 2016
Netherlands, 2004-2009
Poland, 2011
Serbia, 2012
Sri Lanka, 2015
This series contains copies and printouts of articles, essays, speeches, book talk prompts, forwards and introductions, letters to editors and congressmen, drafts of social media posts, newsletters, and informal writings by T. A. Barron, as well as some articles by others about him and interviews. Materials span a wide range of topics, including his books, environmental activism, politics, education, writing, inspirational topics, service, and other subjects. Also present are video files of Barron's talks and readings stored on DVDs and USB flash drives, many of which are available online through his social media platforms.
Arranged in rough chronological order, with video materials at the end.
Letter to Congressman Kogovsek, 1983
Watt's Economic Policy, 1983
People to Watch, 1986
Mismanaging Public Lands, 1988
The Environmental Agenda, 1988
Ivy League Street Fighters, 1989
Letter to Edmund Morris, 1989
Letter to Editor, J. Watt., 1990
Letter to Editor, Jim Stiles, 1990
Life, Death Inspire Author, 1990
National Honor Society Speech, 1990
Of Finance and Fiction, 1990
The Many Sides of T.A. Barron, 1990
Why Write?, 1990
Nation Left Exposed, 1991
On Wonder and Writing, 1991
Why I Write, 1991
Business to Books, 1992
What I Dream For My Children, 1994
Afterword "Immortal Worlds", 1995
Daddy, Is It True?, 1995
"Empty and Full" Story, 1995
Foreword of Anne of Avonlea, 1995
Glowing Like a Crystal, 1995
Mountains of Love, 1995
Selected Best Quotes, 1995
Surprising Connections, 1995
The Write Stuff, 1995
Words are Good..., 1995
A Child's Feast, 1996
Book Talk Newsletter, 1996
Protect Utah's Canyonlands, 1996
Aiken Canyon Speech, 1997
Welcome Letter, 1997
Alexander Dawson School Speech, 1998
Anne Frank Awards Speech, 1998
Garden Club of America Speech, 1998
Imagine a New World, 1998
Interview with T.A. Barron, 1998
Interview with T.A. Barron, 1998
Leadership Conference Speech, 1998
Merlin's Message, 1998
Olentangy Pupils Hear Author, 1998
Profile of T.A. Barron, 1998
Talking with T.A. Barron, 1998
The Spirit of Wild Places, 1998
We Are What We Imagine, 1998
Wilderness Ethics Letter, 1998
Alaska: Land of Immensity, 1999
As High as the Sky, 1999
Books Expo America Speech, 1999
Dreamstone, 1999
Imagine the 21st Century, 1999
Interview with T.A. Barron, 1999
Interview with T.A. Barron, 1999
Interview with T.A. Barron, 1999
Meet the Kids' Author, 1999
Merlin in Our Midst, 1999
T.A. Barron Newsletter, 1999
Those Trees, 1999
Time for Heroes, 1999
Yakking with T.A. Barron, 1999
A Good Talk with the Land, 2000
Elements of a Hero, 2000
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2000
Stop the Sprawl - Op-ed Piece, 2000
"To Walk in Wilderness" Speech, 2000
What Is In A Tale?, 2000
Wizards and Wonder, 2000
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2001
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2001
"Letter to Teachers", 2001
The Heroic Person in Us All, 2001
Touched by Merlin's Wand, 2001
Truth and Dragons, 2001
A Writer Talks About Writing, 2002
Heroes All Around, 2002
Heroes Not Celebrities, 2002
Heroic Kids - Op-ed Piece, 2002
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2002
Let's Walk on the Hero's Trail, 2002
Letters of Hope, 2002
Preface - "The Hero's Trail", 2002
The Hero in Us All, 2002
"The Hero's Trail" blurb, 2002
Walking the Hero's Trail, 2002
Finding a 'See' Monster, 2003
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2003
"Just The Right Word" Speech, 2003
Let's Walk on the Hero's Trail, 2003
National Public Radio Letter, 2003
Renaissance Institute Speech, 2003
Rhodes Class of 1974, 2003
"Spellbound by Merlin", 2003-2015
Walking the Hero's Trail, 2003
Wonder: A Definition, 2003
A Chat with T.A. Barron, 2004
Audio Interview, 2004
Barron Back with Book, 2004
Bush: A Complete Disaster, 2004
Creativity: A Complete Meal, 2004
Creativity as a Way of Life, 2004
It's Only Natural, 2004
Letter to my Readers in Japan, 2004
Living on Earth Interview, 2004
Teach Our Children Well, 2004
"The Crossing", 2004
A Whole New World, 2005
Brief Bio - T.A. Barron, 2005
Closing Prayer, 2005
German Green Peace Article, 2005
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2005
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2005
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2005
Reality Carved from Fantasy, 2005
Seinen Leidenschaften folgen, 2005
Speech to Aspiring Writers, 2005
Still Wild About Harry, 2005
The Agony, The Ecstasy Speech, 2005
The Writer's Magic Wand, 2005
There is Still Light, 2005
This I Believe, 2005
Getting to Know T.A. Barron, 2006
Hope in a Time of Horrors, 2006
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2006
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2006
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2006
Ohio Writers Conference Speech, 2006
T.A. Barron at Home, 2006
The Chance to Dream, 2006
The Writer's Magic Wand, 2006
This I Believe (Essay #2), 2006
Where the Roads End, 2006
A Vision Worth Fighting For, 2007
A Wizard, Words & Merlin Magic, 2007
Destiny and Choice Interview, 2007
Die Magie Der Natur, 2007
Follow Your Dreams, 2007
Hero in Every Child speech, 2007
Heroes Not Celebrities, 2007
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2007
Jane Goodall Testimonial, 2007
Merlin Magic, 2007
No Way, 2007
A Writer's Life, 2008
Heroes, 2008
Letter for Lunchbox Lessons, 2008
Nature's Importance, 2008
The Hero in Every Child, 2008
What is Magic?, 2008
Where the Wild Ink Flows, 2008
Distraction vs. Wisdom, 2009
Interview Mit dem Autor, 2009
Interview Questions, 2009
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2009
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2009
Roll Call Speech, 2009
Sleep Worth Losing, 2009
The Hero in Every Child, 2009
The Importance of Heroes, 2009
The Paycheck from God, 2009
Author Questions & Answers, 2010
Blog Post - T.A. Barron, 2010
Daily Quote, 2010
"Heroes, Not Celebrities", 2010
Interview mit T.A. Barron, 2010
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2010
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2010
Merlin's Dragon Interview, 2010
Message for Books4Boys, 2010
Rhodes Class of 1974, 2010
Teaching Creative Writing, 2010
"The Great House of America", 2010
"The Magic of Words" Speech, 2010
What I Like, 2010
Wind Horse Metaphor, 2010
Writing Fantasy, 2010
Interview on Madeleine L'Engle, 2011
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2011
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2011
Merlin Vocabulary, 2011
Nature Inspires Writing, 2011
Opening Prayer, 2011
Podcast Interview, 2011
Speech to Students, 2011
Taking Time for Wisdom, 2011
"The Flame of Story" Speech, 2011
Why Merlin?, 2011
Atlanta Radio Interview, 2012
Book Donation Letter, 2012
Die Bucherfresser, 2012
Dragons I Have Known, 2012
Heroes, Not Celebrities, 2012
How I Met Madeleine L'Engle, 2012
Kids & Creativity Quotes, 2012
"My Wilderness" film, 2012
Speech to Young Writers, 2012
The Gift of Time: At Risk?, 2012
The Meaning of "Hero", 2012
Why Fantasy Must be True, 2012
Blogs by T.A. Barron, 2013
Growing A Writer's Tree, 2013
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2013
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2013
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2013
Jokes, 2013
New Life for Old Myths, 2013
Thoughts for Aspiring Writers, 2013
Educators Speech Notes, 2014
Fruitlands Museum Story, 2014-2016
Interview with T.A. Barron, 2014
Letter to My Readers in China, 2014
Sentence Completion Interview, 2014
Thanksgiving Post, 2014
The Magic of Words Speech, 2014
The 9 Best Trees in Literature, 2014
"Wild Magic", 2014
"Endless Magic With You Goes", 2015
Merlin and Me...13 Books Later, 2015
"Standing Tall" Speech, 2015
Thoughts on Climate Change, 2015
"Author's Life", 2016
Giving Birth to a New Book, 2016
Inspiring Change Makers, 2016
Thanksgiving Post on Gratitude, 2016
University of California Santa Barbara Commencement Speech: "Think of Your Life as a Story", 2017
"Merlin on the Wind", 2017
"Merlin on the Wind", 2017
"Thanksgiving Post", 2017 November
Class Letter, 2017
Reading the Redwoods, 2018
Heartlight Interview, 2018 January
Fully Alive Gorgeous, 2018 March
A Wrinkle in Time Movie, 2018 March
A Gift Across Time, 2018 Spring
Letter on Rachel Carson, 2018 April
Death, Soft on the Snow, 2018
T. A. Barron Quotes, 2018 June
Reading for the Redwoods, 2018
Thanksgiving Post, 2018 November
Additional Speeches, 2019
This series consists of personal correspondence and writings of T. A. Barron, including copies and printouts of personal journals and letters to others regarding marriage, family, and other topics, selected fan mail received from readers, and a small amount of correspondence with other authors.
Arranged into three file groups.
Dad's Last Race, 1992
Journal Entry on a Book Tour, 1999
Wilderness Letter, 2003
A Prayer for My Mother, 2005
There is Light, 2005
Grand Canyon Days Journal, 2006
Sasha's Last Day, 2006
Poem for Currie: Together, 2008
A New Year for the Earth, 2010
Following One's Dreams, 2010
Notes from Bhutan, 2010
The Importance of Story, 2010
Wedding of Alice & Peter, 2010
Life, the Story, 2011
Thoughts on Marriage, 2012
Thoughts on Time, 2012
Favorite Nature Writers, 2013
Why Wilderness is Important, 2014
Viktor Frankl, 2015
People of Fincayra, 2016
Names, 2016
Circles, A Journal Entry, 2017
A Sunrise for You, 2017 January
Eulogy for Lloyd Cotsen, 2017
Sample Fan Mail, 1994-2021
Sample Fan Mail, 1994-1996
Sample Fan Mail, 1997-1998
Sample Fan Mail, 1999-2001
Sample Fan Mail, 2002
Sample Fan Mail, 2003-2004
Sample Fan Mail, 2005
Sample Fan Mail, 2006
Sample Fan Mail, 2007-2008
Sample Fan Mail, 2009
Sample Fan Mail, 2010
Sample Fan Mail, 2011
Sample Fan Mail, 2012
Sample Fan Mail, 2013
Sample Fan Mail, 2014
Sample Fan Mail, 2015-2017
Sample Fan Mail, 2018
Sample Fan Mail, 2019-2021
Alexander, Lloyd, 1990-1996
Allende, Isabel, 2001-2017
Boyens, Philippa, 2015-2018
Carle, Eric, undated
Cronon, William, 2003-2015
Franklin, Jerry, 2016
Goodall, Jane, 2012-2015
Jacques, Brian, undated
Kerr, Alex, 2002-2016
L'Engle, Madeleine, 1990-1994
Logan, John, 2018
Matthiesson, Peter, 1997
McPhee, John, 2015
Paterson, Katherine, 2015
Stead, Rebecca, 2009
Stegner, Wallace, 1989
Weitz, Chris, 2018
Williams, Terry Tempest, 1993
- Scope and Contents
The collection consists of literary and personal papers of the American author T. A. Barron, comprehensively documenting his fantasy novels, children's books, nature books, and other published work since 1990, along with some early and unpublished work. Literary papers include Barron's outlines and notes, concept summaries, original artwork and maps, and editorial correspondence; handwritten drafts, usually on legal pads, as well as corrected typescripts and proofs and bound galleys; and promotional materials, including posters and book displays. Hardback and paperback editions of his books are also present, as are audio books and international editions with translations into German, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, and other languages. In addition, the papers include international editorial correspondence, copies of articles and speeches with related correspondence, videos of Barron's talks and readings, personal letters and journal entries, fan mail, and a small amount of correspondence with other authors.
- Arrangement
Organized into the following four series by the collection creator:
- Collection Creator Biography:
Barron
T. A. (Thomas Archibald) Barron is an American writer of fantasy and mythic-quest novels, books for children, and nature books. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1952, and grew up on a ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Barron graduated from Princeton University in 1974 and later attended Balliol College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. After extensive travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, he went on to receive J.D. (1980) and M.B.A. (1982) degrees from Harvard University. In 1990, Barron left a successful business career in New York to move back to Colorado and become a full-time writer and conservationist. His first published novel was Heartlight (1990), the first volume in The Adventures of Kate trilogy. Barron has since published over thirty books, including The Ancient One (1992), The Lost Years of Merlin (1996), The Great Tree of Avalon (2004), The Hero's Trail: True Stories of Young People to Inspire Courage, Compassion, and Hope (2015), and many others. Barron also regularly gives talks and publishes essays on various environmental and inspirational topics. He serves on the Princeton Environmental Institute's advisory board, has been a Princeton charter trustee and alumni trustee, and has been active with conservation organizations such as EarthJustice, The Nature Conservancy, and The Wilderness Society.
- Acquisition:
Gift of T. A. Barron, Class of 1974, in March 2016 (AM 2016-75), with additions in December 2016 (AM 2017-72), May 2017 (AM 2017-145), December 2017 (AM 2018-52), June 2018 (AM 2018-115), January 2019 (AM 2019-71), and November 2021 (AM 2022-057).
- Appraisal
No materials were separated from the collection during 2016-2021 processing.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in March-April 2016, with assistance from Fiona Bell '18. Finding aid description was provided by the donor. Arrangement and description of the collection existing when the materials arrived at the library was largely preserved during processing. Finding aid updated based on donor description by Kelly Bolding and Sophia Alvarez '18 in December 2016 and by Kelly Bolding in May 2017, December 2017, June 2018, January 2019, and December 2021.
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Personal materials, including personal journals and letters, fan mail, and correspondence with other authors (Series 4, housed in boxes Box B-000657 and B-000658), are closed for research until January 1, 2025, in accordance with the donor agreement.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
T. A. Barron Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/hx11xh992
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-000639 to B-000658, B-001755, P-000043 to P-000046
- Subject Terms:
- American authors -- 20th century -- Manuscripts.
Children's literature, American. -- 20th century -- Sources
Fantasy fiction, American. -- 20th century -- Sources
Manuscripts. -- 20th century
Nature writers -- United States. -- 20th century -- Sources
Young adult literature, American. -- 20th century -- Sources - Genre Terms:
- Correspondence -- 20th century
Drafts (documents). -- 20th century - Names:
- Barron, T. A. (1952)
