Nancy Willard is an American writer: novelist, poet, author and occasional illustrator of children's books. She received her B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She also studied at Stanford University, where she received her M.A.
Willard won the 1982 Newbery Medal for A Visit to William Blake's Inn, and won five Hopwood Awards for creative writing.
Willard moved to Poughkeepsie, New York in 1965 where she was first a professor at Vassar College and later a lecturer, giving up her tenure to focus on writing. She retired from Vassar in 2013.
