Nina Wilcox Putnam

Nina Wilcox Putnam (November 28, 1888–March 8, 1962) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and columnist. Born Inez Coralie Wilcox in New Haven, Connecticut, she was educated at home by her father, Marrion Wilcox, a Yale English teacher and editor. She began publishing early, selling a short story to the New York Sunday Herald at age eleven.

Putnam became one of the most prolific writers of her era, producing more than 500 short stories, roughly 1,000 magazine articles, books, serials, newspaper columns, comic writing, and children’s literature. Her work ranged across romance, westerns, musical comedy, and Gothic horror, and she wrote for publications including The Saturday Evening Post. A story of hers formed the basis for the 1932 film The Mummy, and she is also credited with drafting the first U.S. income tax Form 1040 for the Internal Revenue Service. She died in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 1962.