Jean Edna Karl (July 29, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois – March 30, 2000 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) was an American book editor who specialized in children's and science fiction titles.
She graduated from the Methodist Church-affiliated[4] Mount Union College in 1949 and immediately began work in the book industry, initially at Scott Foresman in Chicago (Dick and Jane readers[2][3]), then at the Methodist Church-owned[1] Abingdon Press in New York City (children's editor[3]).
There she started the imprints Aladdin Paperbacks (mass market children's) and Atheneum Argo (young-adult science fiction [hardcover][2]).
[1] She was long active in the Children's Book Council for which she served as president,[3] and in the Association of American Publishers.
[3] E. L. Konigsburg was a suburban mother of three schoolchildren without previous publications when she submitted two manuscripts in 1966; Karl accepted both.
[1][10] Without mentioning a name, she explained the editorial process to Scholastic Teacher (no date):[11] Ursula K. Le Guin had published the first Earthsea book with the California small press Parnassus in 1968.
[12] The Tombs of Atuan (1971) earned a Newbery Honor and The Farthest Shore (1972) a National Book Award in category young people's literature.
Beginning in 1973, Karl edited five Patricia A. McKillip books including the author's first novel in 1974 The Forgotten Beasts of Eld after it was rejected by an adult publisher.