Susan Tyler Hitchcock papers

Susan Tyler Hitchcock is an American writer, editor, and professor. Born on March 30, 1950, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, her father, Hugh Wiley, was a musicologist, and her mother, Helene Hitchcock, was a research administrator. Susan attained her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan in 1970 and earned a master’s degree two years later. Susan later graduated from the University of Virginia's English doctorate program in 1978. Hitchcock married David W. Watkins III, a mechanical engineer, in 1980. They had two children together: a daughter, Alison, and a son, John.

In 1973, she began her career as an editorial assistant at Harper & Row Publishers in New York City. From there, she began to work as an editor and writer at Media Products, Inc., also located in New York City. Upon departing Media Products, Inc. in 1978, Susan began her freelance writing career, which continues today. Shortly after attaining her doctorate, Hitchcock became an assistant professor of humanities at the University of Virginia. She held this position from 1981 to 1991. A professor in the Division of Humanities of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hitchcock taught humanities classes tailored to engineering students. After her time at the University of Virginia, Susan continued her freelance career, publishing over thirteen books. Hitchcock returned to the University of Virginia in 1998 to write The University of Virginia: A Pictorial History published in 1999. The book documents the evolution of history from its founding to the 21st century through photographs, interviews, memorabilia, and other ephemera. The publication was sponsored by the University of Virginia Bookstore and distributed by the University of Virginia Press. She began freelance writing for National Geographic in 2002 and joined the book editing staff full-time in 2007.

Published Books by Susan Hitchcock:

Gather Ye Wild Things: A Forager's Year, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1980.

Monticello and Beyond, Papercraft, 1982.

Wildflowers on the Windowsill, Crown (New York, NY), 1984.

Eldridge Bagley: Son of the Soil, Soul of an Artist, Rand McNally Book Services Group/Custom Products (Richmond, VA), 1997.

Coming About: A Family Passage at Sea (memoir), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The University of Virginia: A Pictorial History, University Press of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), 1999.

Listen, My Children: Poems for Kindergarteners, Core Knowledge Foundation (Charlottesville, VA), 2001.

Sylvia Earle: Deep-sea Explorer, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2004.

(Editor, with John L. Esposito) Geography of Religion: Where God Lives, Where Pilgrims

Walk, National Geographic (Washington, DC), 2004.

Rita Levi-Montalcini, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2005.

Mad Mary Lamb: Lunacy and Murder in Literary London, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2005.

Karen Horney: Pioneer of Feminine Psychology, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2005.

Roe v. Wade: Protecting a Woman's Right to Choose, Chelsea House (New York, NY), 2006.

Frankenstein: A Cultural History, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to books, including Uncommon Wealth, Virginia Nature Conservancy (Arlington, VA), 2000, and From Here to There, Virginia Museum of Transportation (Roanoke, VA), 1998.