May 10, 2006: Whatever happened to...

Whatever happened to...
Tom Barron ’74?

Tom Barron ’74 made the most of his years at Princeton: He created the Guide to Choosing a Major at Princeton, co-founded the Course Information Guide, and served as class president. Barron was chosen by his classmates to receive the Class of 1901 Medal for outstanding service to the University, and he also won the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest general distinction conferred upon an undergraduate.

After completing his study as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Barron earned law and business degrees from Harvard. He went to work for Prospect Group, a venture-capital firm founded by Louis Marx ’53, where he eventually became president and COO. In 1990, he relocated from New York City back to his native Colorado, where he became a full-time author. “When I made my decision to leave my business and try to write full time, I knew nothing about the future except that my passion for writing was strong enough that I simply had to give it a try,” Barron says.

Since then, Barron has written 18 books as T.A. Barron, including The New York Times best-selling and award-winning Lost Years of Merlin fantasy series, which is being made into a feature film. His latest trilogy, The Great Tree of Avalon, is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

Barron is the father of Denali Barron ’09, and also serves on Princeton’s Board of Trustees.

By B.W.