by Philana Marie Boles

From childhood fandom to literary preservation, one woman has spent decades helping safeguard Nancy Drew’s legacy while building a community for readers who have never stopped believing in the iconic sleuth.

Before there were conventions, archives, or dedicated museum-style collections, there were simply readers.

Readers like Jennifer Fisher, who grew up devouring Nancy Drew mysteries before eventually becoming arguably Nancy Drew’s foremost historian and preservationist, having donated more than 5,000 objects of her own for fans to explore and enjoy at the world’s largest collection of Nancy Drew materials.

And readers like me, a little girl growing up in Toledo with her own shelves full of Nancy Drew mysteries, who also once convinced a furniture store to sell her parents a Nancy Drew book that had been set up as part of a mock–living room display.

Decades later, those two parallel reading journeys converged inside the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, where Fisher’s expansive Nancy Drew Collection now draws visitors from around the country, fans who make literary pilgrimages to see the collection in person.

As Nancy Drew approaches her 100th anniversary, Fisher is working to continue to preserve rare artifacts and publishing history alongside her organizations, the “Nancy Drew Book Fans” and the “Nancy Drew Sleuths,” providing fans with a place to gather and a sense of belonging in celebration of a beloved fictional teenage detective.

In our conversation for SCBWI, Fisher discusses fandom, literary preservation, storytelling authenticity, and why Nancy Drew still resonates nearly a century later.

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