JOAN KANEL SLOMANSON
I have enjoyed writing as long as I can remember. Many years ago, I wrote humorous books published by Kanrom that included Baby’s First Book of Trauma, How To Stop Smoking For $1, and the co-authorship of Fanny Hillman on Campus and Fanny Hillman in Washington. In more recent times, Abbeville Press published my book titled A Short History: Thumbnail Sketches of 50 Little Giants. And my last book, When Everybody Ate at Schrafft’s, which Barricade published continues to meet with success.
My business experience in advertising and sales promotion has sustained me ever since I came to New York, always with a touch of humor. While being hired at a tender age to write at Young & Rubicam, I was asked for an idea headlined “A title on the door rates a Bigelow on the floor.” I put the name of an exterminator on the door and had a rack in the room with a multi-sleeved jacket hanging on it. My Y&R accounts included Birds Eye Frozen Foods, Borden’s, Simmons Hide-A-Bed Sofas, Beautyrest Mattresses, Singer Sewing Machines, and Life Magazine. Among other positions, I later became a Creative Director of Merchandising Programs, Inc., a division of Norman, Craig & Kummel. Here, I wrote extensively about Fedders Air Conditioners, Maidenform Bras, Hospitality Services, Inc. inns and restaurants, and Hertz Rent-a-car, an account that I carried with me into my freelance life. I also served as Copy Chief of Caryl Richards, working on a variety of hair care products.
Variety has been the spice of my life. For Hank Forssberg, Inc., I wrote about cars: Fiat, Jeep, and Lancia. For Frank Best Advertising, my work involved the home front: Jensen Lewis, Gracious Home, Hoffritz, and FAO Schwarz. For the L.H. Horne Co., I developed material for Pan Am, TWA Ambassador Service, Deer Park, Morton Foods and Playtex. For BJB Graphics, my accounts included Sanyo, Sharp VCR and television, along with Avtex Fibers, UniRoyal, and Tripler and Wallachs ads. For Backer Spielvogel Bates, I developed Philip Morris and CBS promotions. For various other agencies, I wrote about Holland-American Lines, St. Regis Paper Co., and over a dozen different wines and spirits. In the youth market, I have had assignments from Scholastic, Children’s Television Workshop aka Sesame Street, Mattel, and Applause.
A good friend and client of mine is HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. After working on the promotion of her fragrances, “E” and “Mon Ange,” I became involved in the development of her philanthropic foundation. I have written speeches promoting the cause which is to bring health care and assistance to victims in the region of her birth. And I have written literature to help the Princess Elizabeth Foundation raise funds to help handicapped and orphaned refugees. Here in New York, I was elected to the board of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield where I chaired the Health Maintenance Organization committee. I also served on the board and as corporate secretary of Managed Health, Inc. and the Medical Group CHP.
Most of my work, however, is to me a lot of fun. I felt that way in high school when I won a city-wide essay contest. And I enjoyed writing throughout my years at Cornell University, from which I graduated. My husband, the architect and photographer Lloyd (“Woody”) Slomanson, and my two sons will vouch for the pleasure I receive from each and every project.