Bio:Hila Colman

Hila Colman was raised in an upper class Jewish family in Manhattan. She attended Radcliff College for two years until the death of her mother forced her into the working world. Her first job was at the National War Relief Agency, where she wrote and produced promotional materials. She was married to John Colman and had two sons before she hastily scribbled off what was to be her first published piece, "Can a Man Have a Career and a Family Too?", a take-off on a common theme for articles about women. This story was accepted by the Saturday Evening Post in 1947, and Ms. Coleman continued writing for magazines including McCalls, Redbook, and Woman's Day. For several years she wrote for True Romance and True Confessions. These formulaic writings forced her to tell a story with believable characters and dialogue, an influence that would continue throughout her career.

Ms. Colman has written more than 70 books for young adults and several nonfiction books for adults, a few under the name of Theresa Crayder. In many of her writings for young adults, Colman has chosen themes that involve conflicts - between parents and children, among generations, economic classes and political viewpoints. She was a pioneer in the field of teenage fiction. From 1957 (THE BIG STEP) to 1990 (FORGOTTEN GIRL), Hila Colman broke ground by tackling such then-daring topics as teenage marriage, religion, divorce, and minorities. Today Colman’s agenda-driven novels may seem superficial and blandly “safe,” yet there’s little doubt that, during the fifties and sixties, these books provided both insight and comfort to young readers struggling with some heavy real-life issues.

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Biographical Sketch, Hila Colman papers.

Collecting Children's Books, Peter D. Sieruta.