Gary Paulsen

Infobox Writer
name = Gary Paulsen


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caption = Gary Paulsen
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birthdate = Birth date and age|1939|5|17|mf=y
birthplace = Minnesota
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occupation = Author
nationality = American
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genre = Young adult fiction
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spouse = Ruth Wright Paulsen
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website = http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/index.html
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Gary Paulsen is an American writer, who writes many young adult coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books (many of which are out of print), 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for young adults.

Biography

Born in Minnesota in 1939, he was raised by his grandmother and aunts. Paulsen used his work as a magazine proofreader to learn the craft of writing. In 1966, his first book was published under the title "The Special War" . Using his varied life experiences, especially those of an outdoorsman (a hunter, trapper, and three-time competitor in the 1,150 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race), Paulsen writes about what he knows best.

Much of Paulsen's work features the outdoors and highlights the importance of nature. He often uses "coming of age" themes in his novels, where a character masters the art of survival in isolation as a rite of passage to manhood and maturity. He is critical of technology and has been called a Luddite [" [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/books/26paul.html?ex=1173157200&en=2f33b070f21704d7&ei=5070 New York Times On the Road and Between the Pages, an Author Is Restless for Adventure By ANNE GOODWIN SIDES Published: August 26, 2006] "] .

Some of Paulsen's most well-known books are the Hatchet series, although he has published many other popular novels including "Dogsong", "Harris and Me", and "The Winter Room", which won the Newbery Honor. "Woodsong" and "Winterdance" are among the most popular books about the Iditarod.

Paulsen competed in the 1983 and 1985 Iditarods. In 1990, due to heart problems, he gave up dog sledding, which he has described as the most difficult decision he has ever made. After more than a decade spent sailing all over the Pacific, Paulsen got back into dog sledding in 2003. In 2005, he was scheduled to compete in the 2005 Iditarod after a 20-year absence, but withdrew shortly before the start of the race. He participated in the 2006 Iditarod, but scratched after two days.

Paulsen lives in La Luz, New Mexico with his wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen, an artist who has illustrated several of his books. He also maintains a 40-acre spread north of Willow, Alaska where he breeds and trains sled dogs for the Iditarod.

According to Paulsen's keynote speech on October 13 at the 2007 Sinclair Lewis writing conference in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, he will compete again in this year's Iditarod.

Published works

"Brian's Saga"

*"Hatchet" (1987) (Has an alternate ending which makes a continuity with "Brian's Winter")
*"The River" ("Hatchet: The Return", "The Return") (1991)
*"Brian's Winter("Hatchet: Winter") (1996)
*"Brian's Return" ("Hatchet: The Call") (1999)
*"Brian's Hunt" (2003)

"Murphy" series

*"Murphy" (1987)
*"Murphy's Gold" (1988)
*"Murphy's Herd" (1989)
*"Murphy's War" (1990):Co-authored by Brian Burks
*"Murphy's Stand" (1993)
*"Murphy's Ambush" (1995)
*"Murphy's Trail" (1996)

"Alida's" series

*"The Cookcamp" (1991)
*"Alida's Song" (1999)
*"The Quilt" (2004)

"Nightjohn" series

*"Nightjohn" (1993)
*"Sarny" (1997)

"The Tucket Adventures"

*"Mr. Tucket" (1994)
*"Call Me Francis Tucket" (1995)
*"Tucket's Ride" (1997)
*"Tucket's Gold" (1999)
*"Tucket's Home" (2000)

"World of Adventure"

*"The Legend of Red Horse Cavern" (1994)
*"Rodomonte's Revenge" ("Video Trap") (1994)
*"Escape from Fire Mountain" (1995)
*"The Rock Jockeys" ("Devil's Wall") (1995)
*"Hook 'Em Snotty!" (1995)
*"Danger on Midnight River" (1995)
*"The Gorgon Slayer" (1995)
*"Captive!" (1995)
*"Project - A Perfect World" ("Perfect Danger") (1996)
*"The Treasure of El Patron" ("Treasure Ship") (1996)
*"Skydive!" (1996)
*"The Seventh Crystal" (1996)
*"The Creature of Black Water Lake" (1997)
*"Time Benders" (1997)
*"Grizzly" (1997)
*"Thunder Valley" (1997)
*"Curse of the Ruins" (1998)
*"Flight of the Hawk" (1998)

Tales to Tickle the Funnybone

*"The Boy Who Owned the School" (1990)
*"Harris and Me" (1993)
*"The Schernoff Discoveries" (1997)
*"The Glass Cafe" (2003)
*"Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day" (2004)
*"" (2006)
*"Lawn Boy" (2007)

"Culpepper Adventures"

*"The Case of the Dirty Bird" (1992)
*"Dunc's Doll" (1992)
*"Culpepper's Cannon" (1992)
*"Dunc Gets Tweaked" (1992)
*"Dunc's Halloween" (1992)
*"Dunc Breaks the Record" (1992)
*"Dunc and the Flaming Ghost" (1992)
*"Amos Gets Famous" (1992)
*"Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top" (1993)
*"Dunc's Dump" (1993)
*"Dunc and the Scam Artists" (1993)
*"Dunc and Amos and the Red Tattoos" (1993)
*"Dunc's Undercover Christmas" (1993)
*"Wild Culpepper Cruise" (1993)
*"Dunc and the Haunted Castle" (1993)
*"Cowpokes and Desperadoes" (1993)
*"Prince Amos" (1994)
*"Coach Amos" (1994)
*"Amos and the Alien" (1994)
*"Dunc and Amos Meet the Slasher" (1994)
*"Dunc and the Greased Sticks of Doom" (1994)
*"Amos's Killer Concert Caper" (1994)
*"Amos Gets Married" (1995)
*"Amos Goes Bananas" (1996)
*"Dunc and Amos Go to the Dogs" (1996)
*"Amos and the Vampire" (1996)
*"Amos and the Chameleon Caper" (1996)
*"Amos Binder, Secret Agent" (1996)
*"Dunc and Amos on Thin Ice" (1997)
*"Super Amos" (1997)

"Culpepper Adventures Special"

*"Amos Meets the Slasher" (1993)

Other books

*"The Special War" (1966)
*"Some Birds Don't Fly" (1968)
*"Chance for Escape" (1970)
*"The Death Specialists" (1976)
*"The Implosion Effect" (1976)
*"C. B. Jockey" (1977)
*"The Golden Stick" (1977)
*"Tiltawhirl John" (1977)
*"The C. B. Radio Caper" (1977)
*"Foxman" (1977)
*"Winterkill" (1977)
*"The Curse of the Cobra" (1977)
*"The Green Recruit" (1978)
*"The Spitball Gang" (1980)
*"Compkill" (1981)
*"The Sweeper" (1981)
*"Campkill" (1981)
*"Clutterkill" (1982)
*"Dancing Carl" (1983)
*"Popcorn Days and Buttermilk Nights" (1983)
*"Tracker" (1984)
*"Dogsong" (1985)
*"Sentries" (1986)
*"The Crossing" (1987)
*"The Island" (1988)
*"Night Rituals" (1989)
*"The Voyage of the Frog" (1989)
*"The Winter Room" (1989)
*"Canyons" (1990)
*"Kill Fee" (1990)
*"The Night the White Deer Died" (1990)
*"The Monument" (1991)
*"Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass" (1992)
*"Tasting the Thunder" (1992)
*"The Haymeadow" (1992)
*"A Christmas Sonata" (1992)
*"Dogteam" (1993)
*"The Fourteenth Summer" (1993)
*"The Car" (1994)
*"The Tent" (1995)
*"The Tortilla Factory" (1995)
*"The Rifle" (1995)
*"Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers" (1996)
*"Worksong" (1997)
*"Ice Race" (1997)
*"The Transall Saga" (1998)
*"Soldier's Heart" (1998)
*"Blue Light" (1999)
*"Canoe Days" (1999)
*"The Beet Fields" (2000)
*"The White Fox Chronicles" (2000)
*"The Time Hackers" (2005)
*"The Legend of Bass Reeves" (2006)

Non-Fiction

*"" (1976)
*"The Small Ones" (1976)
*"Hitting, Pitching, and Running" (1976)
*"" (1976)
*"Dribbling, Shooting, and Scoring" (1976)
*"Careers in an Airport" (1977)
*"Tackling, Running, and Kicking" (1977)
*"Riding, Roping, and Bulldogging" (1977)
*"" (1977)
*"Running, Jumping, and Throwing" (1978)
*"" (1978)
*"Forehanding and Backhanding" (1978)
*"Hiking and Backpacking" (1978)
*"Downhill, Hotdogging and Cross-Country" (1979)
*"Facing Off, Checking and Goaltending" (1979)
*"Launching, Floating High and Landing" (1979)
*"Pummeling, Falling and Getting Up-Sometimes" (1979)
*"Track, Enduro and Motocross" (1979)
*"Canoeing, Kayacking, and Rafting" (1979)
*"Going Very Fast in a Circle" (1979)
*"" (1980)
*"" (1980)
*"" (1980)
*"" (1980)
*"" (1980)
*"" (1980)
*"T.V. and Movie Animals" (1980) (with Art Browne, Jr)
*"" (1981)
*"" (1981)
*"" (1982)
*"The Madonna Stories" (1988)
*"Woodsong" (1990)
*"" (1993)
*"A Guide for Using Hatchet in the Classroom" (1994)
*"" (1994)
*"Father Water, Mother Woods" (1994)
*"" (1996)
*"My Life in Dog Years" (1997)
*"" (1997)
*"" (1998)
*"" (1999)
*"" (2001)
*"Caught by the Sea - My Life on Boats" (2001)
*"How Angel Peterson Got His Name" (2003)

Awards and Recognition

Newbery Honor Book - "Hatchet"
Newbery Honor Book 1986 - "Dogsong"
Newbery Honor Book - "The Winter Room"

Western Writers of Amerca Golden Spurs Award - "The Haymeadow"

References and footnotes

References

* 2005–2006 Mark Twain Award master list addendum. (n.d.). "Missouri Association of School Librarians". [http://www.maslonline.org/awards/books/MarkTwain/annotated.php Retrieved March 12, 2006 from Missouri Association of School Librarians, Book Awards] .
* Mark Twain Award master list 1971–2006. (April 29, 2005). Retrieved March 12, 2006 from Mid-Continent Public Library, Juvenile Award Winners ( [http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/awards/juv/mt-master.pdf (pdf)] .
* Margaret A. Edwards Award. (n.d.). "American Library Association". http://www.ala.org

* [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/ Gary Paulsen's site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0667305/ Film adaptions by Gary Paulsen from the IMDb site]
* [http://www.oklibs.org/sequoyah/yawinners.htm 1990 young adult Sequoyah Award from Oklahoma Library Association]

External links

*worldcat id|id=lccn-n81-42339

Persondata
NAME=Gary Paulsen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Author
DATE OF BIRTH=May 17, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH=Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=