MS – 242 Joyce Sweeney Papers

Introduction

Writer Joyce Sweeney donated her papers to the Wright State University Department of Archives and Special Collections in May 1992.

The papers in this collection date from 1974 through 1995 and fill 7 Hollinger boxes and 72 file folders. The collection is arranged into 5 series as follows:

Series 1: School Papers

Series 2: Manuscripts

Series 3: Published Short Stories and Poetry

Series 4: Scrapbooks

Series 5: Miscellaneous

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Biographical Sketch

Joyce Sweeney was born Joyce Hegenbarth in Dayton, Ohio. She graduated from Wright State University, summa cum laude, and earned graduate credits at Ohio University in English and Creative Writing.

Since she was eight years old, Joyce had dreamed of becoming a writer. Determined and driven to be a writer, Joyce spent years developing her own writing style. Growing up as an only child with one parent, she adjourned to her fantasies about family life. Despite the limitations of widowhood and family finance, Joyce’s mother provided two trips to Europe, enhancing her daughter’s imagination and broadening her scope of the world.

At seventeen, Joyce earned twenty-five dollars with the publication of her first short story, “Where Do You Belong in the Jungle?” in New Writers Magazine. She continued to write fiction and became an accomplished writer of short stories. Joyce took first place in the Annual College Scholarship Internship Contest sponsored by Playgirl magazine. Her college literary magazine, Nexus, published her short story “Grass”. “Shattered Suns” appeared in Green’s Literary Magazine. In 1983, Co-Ed magazine published “Spanish Horses”.

Also in 1983, Joyce won the Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers First Young Adult Novel Contest for Center Line. Since winning this competition, she has had several successful novels published, including Face the Dragon, The Dream Collector, and Shadow. In fact, Shadow won such an acclaim that in 1995, the Young Adult Library Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association recommended Shadow as one of its Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Ms. Sweeney lives and works in Coral Springs, Florida, where she consistently participates in book signings and special events pertaining to writing and young adult literature.

Scope and Content

The Joyce Sweeney Papers fall into five series: (1) School Papers; (2) Manuscripts; (3) Published Short Stories and Poetry; (4) Scrapbooks; and Miscellaneous.

Series I contains Joyce Sweeney’s school papers. These papers were written for classes she took at Wright State University and Ohio University. The papers date from approximately 1973 to 1979. Many of these school papers are undated, so educated guesses, often going by class numbers, were used to fit them in as close to chronological order as possible.

Series 2 holds Joyce Sweeney’s manuscripts. Those manuscripts which are dated, and many were not, were written between 1978 and 1995. Some of these manuscripts are original handwritten short stories. In addition, several typewritten manuscripts for novels and notes about these novels are filed in the manuscript series, including the typescripts and notes for Center Line (published in 1980) and Free Fall (published in 1996). Publisher’s typesetting printouts are also included for several novels. The typed manuscripts have usually been divided into two parts for archival storage purposes because they are too voluminous to fit into a single file folder; Sweeney herself did not assign these divisions. Because many of the manuscripts are undated, it was difficult to arrange them chronologically. Therefore, the undated manuscripts are arranged in approximate chronological order based on the publication dates of the novels. All manuscripts are included in this series except for the typewritten short story “Where Do You Belong in the Jungle?” This work is filed with Scrapbook #1 inbox number 5, file number 2. It is filed with this scrapbook in accordance with respect for original order since that is where Ms. Sweeney placed it.

Series 3 consists of copies of Ms. Sweeney’s short stories published in New Writers, Nexus, Playgirl, Green’s, and Co-Ed Magazines. They were published from 1974 to 1983. The series also includes an issue of the periodical Blue Violin, in which Sweeney’s poem “Meditation” appears.

Series 4 includes the contents of seven scrapbooks. Many of the papers in these scrapbooks were being discolored and deteriorated by the adhesive which held them in place. To prevent further decay, these papers were separated from their scrapbooks and placed in acid-free file folders. The scrapbooks are arranged approximately in chronological order. They date from 1974 through 1990.

The subject matter of these scrapbooks varies. Some papers relate to legal matters involved with publishing; others are mail from adoring fans. The correspondence between the young Joyce Sweeney and her agent is interesting. Ms. Sweeney’s enthusiasm and delight at getting her work published is evident in her letters. Contents also include birthday cards, letters, notes and newspaper articles about Ms. Sweeney and her books.

Series 5 is labeled “Miscellaneous.” The materials contained in this series are similar to many of the materials in series 4. However, because Ms. Sweeney had not arranged or labeled them as scrapbooks, they could not be filed with the scrapbook materials. Series 5 contains conference and workshop programs in which Ms. Sweeney participated. It also includes such varied information such as advertisements, articles, and press releases concerning Ms. Sweeney and her published works.

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