Joann Mazzio
Biographical Information
Joann Mazzio was born Joann Berry in Webster County, West Virginia. Her first formal education was in a small one-room school in Snuffville, WV. Her mother taught grades 1-8 at the school, and young Joann made up half of the first grade class. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan College for two years before transferring to West Virginia University to complete a degree in aeronautical engineering.
Mazzio worked as an engineer for several years, including working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the predecessor to NASA) and the Air Force Weapons Laboratory. After earning an MA in education from the University of New Mexico, she began teaching mathematics to 7th – 12th graders in the New Mexico public schools. While teaching, Mazzio was awarded an NEH grant to study science in Antiquity at Harvard; later she would describe her eight weeks in Cambridge as among the most exciting of her life. After fifteen years, she retired early from education to write full-time. Her first published work was a short piece about picking onions at the Las Cruces city dump, published in New Mexico Magazine. Since then, she has published two novels for young adults, as well as publishing numerous fiction and non-fiction pieces in magazines and anthologies.
The One Who Came Back, her first novel, focuses on Eddie and Alex, two ninth-graders who run away to the Sandia Mountains near their New Mexico homes to escape for awhile the chaos of their home lives. Her second novel, Leaving El Dorado, is a historical tale set in the late 1800s gold fields of New Mexico. Fourteen-year-old Maude lives with her father in El Dorado until he leaves to seek fortune in the gold fields of Alaska. Left to fend for herself, Maude becomes a chambermaid at the local board house. Here she makes friends with a diverse range of travelers and citizens, including a local prostitute and a traveling artist. These relationships help Maude to find herself and realize that only she can make the decisions that will lead her to her destiny. Written as a series of letters to Maude’s dead mother, Leaving El Dorado is a unique and touching story.
In addition to her novels and periodical publications, she writes reading comprehension material for educational standardized testing corporations. She offers talks and workshops in schools and other educational settings, as well as attending and speaking at local, state, and regional conferences for writers and educators.Currently, Joann Mazzio lives in Pinos Altos, New Mexico, dividing her time between writing and travel.
Critical Responses
Joann Mazzio’s young-adult novels have been widely praised and recommended by parents and educators. Both have been included on recommended book lists by the American Library Association and have been added to many state reading lists for use in the classroom. Her first novel, The One Who Came Back, was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers Association of America.
Leaving El Dorado, her second novel, has been equally praised. Laura Van Tuyl, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, comments that Leaving El Dorado “reveals the social and economic plight of the few women and girls who lived in these frontier mining camps. It’s a strongly feminist tale with an exciting climax.” The book received a Spur Award from the Western Writers Association for Best Western Juvenile Book.
Works Published
- The One Who Came Back
- Leaving El Dorado
Selected Bibliography
Havis, Kathryn. Leaving El Dorado (book review). School Library Journal. May 1993. pp.124,127.
Knapp, Rosemary. Leaving El Dorado (book review). Book Report. September/October 2003. pp.45.
Peacock, Diane. The One Who Came Back (book review). Book Report. September/October 1992. pp. 50.
Van Tuyl, Laura. Fact and Fancy for Older Readers. Christian Science Monitor. May 7, 1993.
Zeiger, Hanna B. Leaving El Dorado (book review). Horn Book Magazine. May/June 1993. pp. 337.
Author Website
http://www.mazziojoann.com/