Autumn Joy Stanley was born in Vinton County, Ohio, on 21 December 1933. She received an A.B. (1955) with high distinction from Transylvania College and an M.A. (1967) in English and American Literature from Stanford University.



Stanley worked as an editor of scholarly books and science textbooks for Stanford University Press (1969-1974) and Wadsworth Publishing Co. (1974-1980) before turning to a career as an independent scholar and researcher. She also taught at Pacific Lutheran College (1957-1958) in Tacoma, Washington, and Cañada College (1969-1970) in Redwood City, California. She was an affiliated scholar of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University (1984-1988).



Stanley writes in the areas of women's studies, with a focus on issues of gender and technology, as well as on food and wine. Her books include Asparagus: The Sparrowgrass Cookbook (1976) and Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology (1993), as well as two children's books, Mainder the Buttercup (1977) and The Enchanted Quill (1978). Her work has been published in various magazines, scholarly journals, and anthologies.