Jean Blashfield Black is Managing Editor
of the TSR Book Department, editor of the
DRAGONLANCE® book line, and an author
of many books.

Jean was born in Madison, Wis.. and
raised in Evanston, III. She has a B.A. in Experimental
Psychology and English from
the University of Michigan. She did graduate
work in Science Education at the University
of Chicago.

After graduating from college, she was
hired by Wallace Black at Children’s Press
in Chicago, where she started working on a
20-volume science encyclopedia. Within a
few months, she was promoted to Managing
Editor, although she was only 21 years
old. She handled all the editing and production,
managed a staff of 20, and wrote a
number of articles for the encyclopedia.
The Young People’s Science Encyclopedia
was first published in 1962, and is still being
published today.

Jean said, “The most exciting event of
my professional career was the publishing
of this first encyclopedia. With that job, I
was ballooned into the mainstream of publishing
before I had even known where I
was heading. It was a thrilling, enriching
experience — being with experts in their
fields, top consultants from many walks of
life, and enjoying the concepts of the varied
artists. I think being involved with the compiling
of a major reference work of any kind
is a stirring (and exhausting) experience.”

In 1964, Jean decided that she was ready
for something new, so she took a job in
London. “The logic of that move escapes
me now, except there was no position in
Chicago at the time that I was interested in,
and the thought of moving to New York
scared the wits out of me.”

While she was in London, the first
were published. They
were a series of Gilbert and
Sullivan operas retold for children,
and had beautiful illustrations. They were
published in the United States by Franklin
Watts. “I also wrote a book on scientific experiments,
and served as American consultant
on several adult ‘coffee table
books,’ one of which was a book of photographs
by Lord Snowden, Princess Margaret’s
ex-husband,” Jean said.

In 1967, Wallace Black, who had given
Jean her first job, started his own company,
New Horizons Publishers, and asked Jean
to come back to Chicago as his editor-in-chief
to create a 14-volume aviation and
space encyclopedia. “It seemed like too
good an opportunity to miss, so I left London
and came back to the United States.

“It was quite a challenge overseeing the
work on a science encyclopedia for high
school students and adults. The science
was much more involved than it had been
on the earlier set, but there were a lot of
benefits, too,” Jean said. “The Air Force
flew me to a number of special events, including
the rollout of the C-5 aircraft where
President Johnson spoke. I saw the launch
of the first Saturn V rocket from Cape Kennedy,
and I spent a lot of time in Washington,
D.C.”

Above and Beyond: The Encyclopedia of
Aviation and Space Sciences was published
in 1968. After that, Jean moved to Washington,
D.C., and worked as a freelance editor
and writer.

In 1976, Wallace Black came back into
her life. He was widowed, and had come to
Washington on business. “We got together
for dinner one night,” Jean said, “and three
months later we were married.”

The next year, the Blacks moved to Lake
Geneva, Wis. Wallace and Jean have two
children, a son, Winston, 8, and a daughter,
Chandelle, 7.

One day a friend introduced her to Rose
Estes, who wrote a number of the early
ENDLESS QUEST® books for TSR. “I didn’t
know about TSR, even though it
was only a few miles away.

I had heard of the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game,
of course, but I had no idea it was published
in Wisconsin.” Because of her exceptional
background, she was hired as
Education Editor, and worked with Jim
(GAMMA WORLD) Ward to put together an
education program. That job evolved into
her current position as Managing Editor of
the Book Department. She played a key
role in the creation of the DRAGONLANCE
books, and has written several books of her
own.

“My career is reflected in my daughter
Chandelle’s name. In aviation, a chandelle
describes a 180-degree climbing turn by an
airplane. Ever since the publication of my
first encyclopedia, my career has taken fascinating
turns that present greater challenges,”
Jean said.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TSR BOOKS
MASTER OF RAVENLOFT (AD&D®
Adventure Gamebook #6)
GHOST TOWER (SUPER ENDLESS QUEST™
Book #2)
VILLAINS OF VOLTURNUS (ENDLESS
QUEST® Book #8)