Jack Snow

Born John Frederick Snow in Piqua, Ohio, in 1907, Jack Snow grew up with a deep love for L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. That early passion stayed with him throughout his life and shaped much of his writing and scholarship.

Snow worked as a radio writer and also wrote ghost stories, but he is best remembered for his place in the Oz tradition. He wrote two official Oz books, The Magical Mimics in Oz and The Shaggy Man of Oz, and later compiled Who’s Who in Oz, a detailed guide to the series’ characters and lore.

He died in New York City in 1956. Though his published career was relatively brief, his mix of fan devotion, storytelling, and careful knowledge of Baum’s world made him an important figure for generations of Oz readers.