| Born | Ellen Zolotow November 25, 1952 New York City, US |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Author |
| Genre | Cookbooks Children's literature |
| Spouse | Mark Graff (2019–present)[1][2] Ned Shank (1978–2000, until his death)[3][1][2] Mark Parsons (1970–1975)[3][1] |
| Partner | David R. Koff (until his death in 2014)[4] |
| Relatives | Charlotte Zolotow (mother) Maurice Zolotow (father) |
Crescent Dragonwagon (née Ellen Zolotow, November 25, 1952, New York City) is a multigenre writer. She has written fifty books, including two novels, seven cookbooks and culinary memoirs, more than twenty children's books, a biography, and a collection of poetry. In addition, she has written for magazines including The New York Times Book Review, Lear's, Cosmopolitan, McCall's, and The Horn Book.[5]
Dragonwagon is the daughter of the writers Charlotte and Maurice Zolotow.[6] Although many of her cookbooks include non-vegetarian recipes, she has been a vegetarian since the age of 22.[7]
Dragonwagon and her late husband, Ned Shank, owned Dairy Hollow House, a country inn and restaurant in the Ozark Mountain community of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Dragonwagon later co-founded the non-profit Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, and was active in the cultural and literary life of Arkansas throughout the 31 years she lived in the state full-time.[3]
Dragonwagon's tenth children's book, Half a Moon and One Whole Star, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney and published in 1986, was the winner of a Coretta Scott King Award, as well as a Reading Rainbow Selection. In 1991, she won Arkansas' Porter Prize.
| Year | Awards and nominations | Book |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Won: James Beard Foundation Award: Vegetarian/Healthy Focus | Passionate Vegetarian (2002)[8] |
| 1993 | Nominated: James Beard Foundation Award: Americana | The Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook (1992)[8] |
