The Woman Behind A Generation of Great Writers

Considered both blue blood and bohemian, author Ann Head was a literary trailblazer for her time – known for her role in the suffragist movement and challenging societal norms. Yet as the woman behind a generation of great writers, including Pat Conroy, little has been shared about her lasting impact. In her debut biography, Ahead of her Time, daughter Nancy Thode, and her sister Stacey Ahner. shares for the first time about Head’s mysterious personal life, meticulously revealed through her never-before-published journals and personal notes. In partnership with Evening Post Books we are thrilled to host Nancy Head Thode along with historian Harlan Green for a special conversation about her mother’s legacy.

If you are unable to attend the event, but would like to purchase one or more signed copies, please visit Buxton Books here.

About the Book

Author Ann Head was an essential voice of mid-century fiction, known for challenging societal norms and amplifying women’s struggles in an era that often silenced them. Now, for the first time, her mysterious personal life is unveiled through the lens of her eldest daughter, Nancy Thode.Through meticulous archival work and transcriptions of Head’s journals, Thode offers an intimate portrait of a writer whose life and fiction were deeply intertwined – one who influenced a generation of writers, including her student, the acclaimed Pat Conroy, who noted in his autobiography that “every time I sell a book, I put a rose on her grave.” More than just a biography, this book is a celebration of Ann Head’s enduring legacy. Featuring a selection of her published stories, it invites readers to experience her boundary-pushing prose firsthand.

The book also includes never-before-seen letters from a young Pat Conroy, whose early poems and admiration for Head reveal her lasting impact on one of the South’s most celebrated literary voices. Perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike, this book is essential reading for anyone drawn to revolutionary women, literary history, and the inescapable connection between life and art.

About the Author

A native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Nancy Head Thode is a graduate of Ashley Hall School, Towson State University, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. An early advocate for family mediation, she was a founding board member of the Academy of Family Mediators and continues her work today as a practicing family psychotherapist. Later in life, she discovered a passion for community theater, starring in several productions and writing and producing one-woman shows. A strong believer in the power of fellowship, she now chairs the Gatherings Committee at Christ Church Greenwich in Connecticut. In 2020, she established the Ann Head Literary Award for Short Story Fiction at Beaufort High School, where her mother, Ann Head, once taught and mentored a young Pat Conroy. The mother of two and grandmother of five, Nancy currently divides her time between Stamford, Connecticut, and Fripp Island, near Beaufort, South Carolina. This is her first book.

About Stacey Ahner

About Harlan Greene

A native of Charleston, Harlan Greene is emeritus Scholar in Residence at the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library. Previously its head of Special Collections and the director of Archival Services at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, he earlier served as archivist and interim director of the SC Historical Society, before founding and directing the NC Preservation Consortium. Returning to Charleston, he founded the archives at the Charleston County Public Library and worked in the college’s Jewish archives before creating its LGBTQ archives,  the first in the state. Greene currently serves on the board of the Preservation Society of Charleston and is chair of the City of  Charleston’s Historical Commission. He lectures and publishes  frequently on various  topics relating to the history and culture of the Carolina Lowcountry. An award-winning novelist as well as being cited for his archival contributions,  he has published books of literary biography, co-edited a volume on the Charleston Renaissance, and co-authored the standard reference book on Charleston slave badges and the slave hire system. He is currently at work on a biography of Charleston artist William Halsey, and is involved in numerous projects  to uncover unknown aspects of Charleston’s past.\\