Ann Petry
(1911–1997)
Ann Petry was born in Connecticut. After she graduated from college, she worked as a pharmacist, a reporter, a writer and salesperson for an advertising agency, and an editor.
Petry’s first novel, The Street, was published in 1946. It was the first novel written by an African American woman to describe the lives of African American women in urban areas. She also wrote two biographies about slavery for young readers: Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad and Tituba of Salem Village.
In addition to biographies and novels, Petry wrote short stories and poems.
