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VJ Books Presents Author Jan Karon!
 Jan Karon was raised on a farm near Lenoir, North Carolina. She was born Janice Meredith Karon, so named after the novel Janice Meredith. Her literary destiny was further evidenced when she wrote her first novel at 10 years of age. The same year she won a short-story contest organized by a local high school.
At 18, Karon began working as a receptionist for Walter J. Klein Co., an advertising agency, supporting both herself and her daughter, Candace. Her penchant for writing led her to submit samples of her work to her boss, and she was soon writing copy for the firm. Following this initial success, Karon went on to have a very successful career, winning awards for ad agencies from Charlotte to San Francisco and becoming creative vice president at McKinney & Silver. As VP, she won the Magazine Publishers of America Stephen Kelly Award in 1987 for her ad campaign "The Best Place to Hear Old English Music Is 3,000 Miles West of London."
At the age of 50, Karon left advertising and moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. She picked up her creative writing again and began publishing Father Tim stories in the local newspaper, The Blowing Rocket. She was rejected by many publishers, but perseverance and a little bit of luck led her to publish her first novel, At Home in Mitford, and subsequently many more. By the 1990's, Karon was on the New York Times Bestseller list.
She now lives in a 1816 home, which she restored, on a hundred-acre working farm in Virginia.
Photo credit: Candace Freeland
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Jan Karon Bibliography
The Mitford Years Series (In publication order)
- At Home in Mitford - 1994
- A Light in the Window - 1995
- These High, Green Hills - 1996
- Out to Canaan - 1997
- A New Song - 1999
- A Common Life: the Wedding Story - 2001
- In This Mountain - 2002
- Shepherds Abiding - 2003
- Light from Heaven - 2005.
- Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good - 2014
- Come Rain or Come Shine - 2015
- To Be Where You Are - 2017
Father Tim Novels
- Home to Holly Springs - 2007
- In the Company of Others - 2010
Children Books
- Miss Fannie's Hat - 1998
- Jeremy, the tale of an honest bunny - 2000
- Violet Comes to Stay - 2006 (Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully.)*
- Violet Goes to the Country - 2007 (Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully.)*
*(Presented by Jan Karon and written by Melanie Cecka.)
Christmas Gift Books
- The Mitford Snowmen - 2001
- Esther's Gift: a Mitford Christmas Story - 2002
Other Books
- Patches of Godlight: Father Tim's favorite quotes - 2001
- The Trellis and the Seed: A Book of Encouragement for All Ages - 2003
- Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader : Recipes from Mitford Cooks, Favorite Tales from Mitford Books - 2004 (edited by Martha McIntosh)
- A Continual Feast: words of comfort and celebration, collected by Father Tim - 2005
- The Mitford Bedside Companion - 2006
Jan Karon Awards
- A New Song - Christy and Gold Medallion awards for outstanding contemporary fiction.
- A Common Life, In This Mountain, and Shepherd’s Abiding have also won Gold Medallion awards.
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