Ann Copeland

1932-

Virginia (Walsh) Furtwangler (born 16 December 1932) is an American-Canadian author, writing under the name Ann Copeland. She was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. She attended the Catholic University of American and received her Ph.D. in Modern Literature from Cornell University. Furtwangler spent 13 years as an Ursuline nun, teaching English literature in both high school and college. In 1968, Furtwangler married Albert Furtwangler. They later moved to New Brunswick, Canada where Albert taught at Mount Allison University. Furtwangler taught in nearby cities and decided to begin writing and publishing in 1974. Her first penname was Ann Bernard, used only for a short time. She then changed to Ann Copeland. Many of Furtwangler's stories were published in journals and anthologies. Six collections of her work have been published in Canada: At Peace (1978), The Back Room (1979), Earthen Vessels (1984), The Golden Thread (1989), Strange Bodies on a Stranger Shore (1994) and Season of Apples (1996). In addition to writing, Furtwangler taught English literature and writing at Canadian and American universities including the University of Idaho, Linfield College, Bemidji State, and Wichita State, as well as many writing workshops around the U.S and Canada. In 1996, her compilation of fiction writing tips, The ABC's of Writing Fiction was published in the U.S. That same year Furtwangler became the first Hallie Ford Chair of English at Willamette University. She served in that position until 1999. She was awarded a Doctor of Laws (honorary) from the University New Brunswick in 1997.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Sackville

Archival Material

• Virginia Furtwangler aka Ann Copeland papers, 1966
  ⌄
  Location

  Willamette University Archives and Special Collections

  Website/Catalogue Record

  View Archival Record

  Retrieval Number

  WUA079

  Date Range of Material

  1966-2014

  Extent

  11.5 linear feet (16 boxes)

  Scope and Content Note

  The Virginia Furtwangler aka Ann Copeland papers contain Furtwangler's published and unpublished writing. Her papers document the writing process from initial notes to manuscript drafts to final published works. Also included is correspondence with potential publishers, book reviews, book tour information, and newspaper publicity covering her stories. In addition to her writing, the collection contains Furtwangler's teaching materials used while teaching workshops and University courses, and materials gathered while she was the Hallie Brown Ford Chair of English from 1996 to 1999.