Who wrote the 1982 Newbery Medal winner A Visit to William Blake's Inn?

Who wrote the 1982 Newbery Medal winner *A Visit to William Blake's Inn*? The answer is Nancy Willard.

Willard’s book is a collection of imaginative poems inspired by the English poet and artist William Blake. Its full title is *A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers*, and it turns Blake into the proprietor of a fantastical inn populated by eccentric guests and creatures.

The 1982 Newbery Medal recognized Willard’s contribution to children’s literature. The illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen also earned a Caldecott Honor, making the book the first to receive recognition from both major American children’s-book awards.

Readers sometimes remember the title as a conventional fantasy novel, but it is fundamentally a poetry collection. The other names listed were associated with that year’s Newbery Honor books: Beverly Cleary for *Ramona Quimby, Age 8* and Aranka Siegal for *Upon the Head of the Goat*; Jane Langton was an earlier Honor author.