Richard Peck (writer)
| Richard Peck | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 10, 1934 Decatur, Illinois, U.S.[1] |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Period |
1972–present _ Genre = horror, mystery, fiction |
| Subjects | Writing for young adults |
|
Influences
|
|
|
richardpeck.smartwriters.com |
|
Richard Peck (born April 10, 1934) is an American novelist known for his prolific contributions to modern young adult literature. He was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2001 for his novel A Year Down Yonder.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
 |
This section's tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (September 2010) |
Richard Wayne Peck was born August 3, 1936 in Wisconsin, the son of Virginia Grey Peck and Wayne Peck. His mother was a Wesleyan University graduate[citation needed] in economics[citation needed] and his father owned a service station. He has a sister, Cheryl, who is an administrator at a college in Springfield, Illinois. He attended elementary and high schools in Decatur.
Peck began his career as a high school teacher, but, much to his dismay, was transferred to a junior high school to teach English. After a while, he decided to cut his career short and write. However, these observations about junior high school students proved excellent material for his books. He said, "Ironically, it was my students who taught me to be a writer, though I was hired to teach them."[3]
Peck studied at DePauw University, earning a bachelor's degree in English in 1956. He belonged to the Delta Chi fraternity and spent his junior year abroad at the University of Exeter. After college, he was drafted into the US Army as a chaplain's Assistant and spent two years serving in Stuttgart, Germany. In a 2003 interview he commented, "I think your view of the world goes on—for the rest of your life—as the world you saw as you emerged into it as an adult."[2]
After his military service ended, he completed a master's degree at Southern Illinois University in 1959 and taught junior high and high school English. He left teaching in 1971 to write his first novel, Don't Look and It Won't Hurt. He has written a book each year since then, totaling 39 books in 39 years.
Peck is a private person "who is fastidious about what he allows others to know about himself. He knows, respects, and honors personal boundaries in ways that are refreshing for someone who grew up in the sixties and seventies, when every little personal thing was fair game."[4] He currently lives in New York and divides his time between writing and traveling. Peck is an adjunct professor with Louisiana State University's School of Library and Information Sciences.[3]
[edit] Quotes
"The only way you can write by the light of the bridges burning behind you." -Richard Peck, at a PEN panel in NYC, Feb. 8, 2010. "Ironically, it was my students who taught me to be a writer, though I had been hired to teach them," he said in a speech published in Arkansas Libraries."They taught me that a novel must entertain first before it can be anything else. I learned that there is no such thing as a 'grade reading level'; a young person's 'reading level' and attention span will rise and fall according to his degree of interest. I learned that if you do not have a happy ending for the young, you had better do some fast talking."
[edit] Works
Peck writes exclusively on a typewriter, described here in 'Publishers Weekly:
When the author is not traveling, he works at an L-shaped desk, which affords a sunny window. He writes everything on an electric typewriter because"it has to be a book from the first day," he explains. He has no daily routine because of all the traveling he does, but follows a very disciplined writing process. He writes each page six times, then places it in a three-ring binder with a DePauw University cover ("a talisman," he calls this memento from his alma mater). When he feels that he has gotten a page just right, he takes out another 20 words. "After a year, I've come to the end. Then I'll take this first chapter, and without rereading it, I'll throw it away and write the chapter that goes at the beginning. Because the first chapter is the last chapter in disguise." He always hands in a completed manuscript, and his editor is his first reader.
Although Peck finds a way to connect to readers around the world, he refuses to embrace new technology. He still types his material on a typewriter. He has also written two books that have a tech-savvy setting.
Peck believes each book should be a question, not an answer. He also believes that before anything else can happen a book needs to be entertaining. He is the author of many award-winning novels.
His collected papers written between 1972 and 1991 reside at The University of Southern Mississippi.[5]
[edit] Published works
[edit] Anthologies
- 1970: Sounds and Silences: Poems For Now
- 1971: Mindscapes: Poems for the Real World
- 1973: Leap Into Reality: Essays For Now
- 1976: Pictures That Storm Inside My Head (poetry anthology, editor)
- 2004: Past Perfect, Present Tense (short story collection)
[edit] Novels
- 1973: Dreamland Lake
- 1973: Through a Brief Darkness
- 1974: Representing Super Doll ISBN 9780380004164
- 1976: Are You in the House Alone?
- 1976: The Ghost Belonged to Me ISBN 0-670-33767-6
- 1977: Ghosts I Have Been
- 1977: Monster Night at Grandma's House
- 1978: Father Figure
- 1979: Secrets of the Shopping Mall
- 1980: Amanda/Miranda
- 1981: New York Time
- 1983: The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp
- 1983: This Family of Women
- 1985: Remembering the Good Times
- 1986: Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death
- 1987: Princess Ashley
- 1987: Write a Tale of Terror
- 1988: Those Summer Girls I Never Met
- 1989: Voices After Midnight
- 1991: Unfinished Portrait of Jessica
- 1993: Bel-Air Bambi and the Mall Rats
- 1995: Lost in Cyberspace!
- 1995: The Last Safe Place on Earth
- 1996: The Great Interactive Dream Machine: Another Adventure in Cyberspace
- 1998: London Holiday
- 1998: A Long Way from Chicago
- 1998: Strays Like Us
- 2000: A Year Down Yonder
- 2001: Fair Weather
- 2003: The River Between Us
- 2004: The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts
- 2006: Here Lies The Librarian
- 2007: On the Wings of Heroes
- 2009: A Season of Gifts
- 2010: Three Quarters Dead
- 2011: Secrets at Sea (illustrated by Kelly Murphy)
[edit] Nonfiction
- 1971: The Creative Word
- 1974: Transitions: a Literary Paper Casebook
- 1974: Urban Studies: a Research Paper Casebook
- 1991: Anonymously Yours (autobiography)
- 1994: Love and Death at the Mall: Teaching and Writing for the Literate Young
- 2002: Invitations to the World: Teaching and Writing for the Young
- 2007: Escape! The Story Of The Great Houdini
- 2009: Nothing stoy
[edit] Works adapted into movies
- 1976: The Ghost Belonged to Me
- 1977: Are You in the House Alone?
- 1978: Child of Glass (The Ghost Belonged to Me)
- 1980: Father Figure
- 1991: Gas Food Lodging (Don't Look and It Won't Hurt)
[edit] Awards
- 1974: Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee, Best Juvenile, Dreamland Lake
- 1977: Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Juvenile, Are You in the House Alone?
- 1990: Margaret A. Edwards Award [6]
- 1990: ALAN Award[7]
- 1991: University of Southern Mississippi Medallion
- 1999: National Book Award finalist: Newbery Honor, A Long Way from Chicago [8]
- 2001: Newbery Medal, A Year Down Yonder [8]
- 2001: National Humanities Medal [9]
- 2004: Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award [10]
- 2004 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction The River Between Us
- 2005: ALAN Award
[edit] References
- ^ Random House: Authors: Richard Peck. Accessed 2 December 2006.
- ^ a b Brown, Jennifer M. "Richard Peck: A Long Way from Decatur", Publishers Weekly, July 21, 2003.
- ^ a b "A Morning With The 2001 Newbery Medal Winner, Richard W. Peck, DePauw '56". Delta Chi Quarterly, Fall/Winter 2001: 6-7, 20.
- ^ Talbert, Marc. "Richard Peck", The Horn Book Magazine, July/August 2001.
- ^ Richard Peck Papers. The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi.
- ^ 1990 Award Winner Richard Peck. American Library Association. Accessed 2 December 2006.
- ^ Gill, David. Alan Award Recipients. The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. Accessed 2 December 2006.
- ^ a b Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present. American Library Association. Accessed 2 December 2006.
- ^ Winners of the National Humanities Medal and the Charles Frankel Prize. National Endowment for the Humanities. Accessed 2 December 2006.
- ^ Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award. Educational Paperback Association. Accessed 2 December 2006.
[edit] External links
- Children's Author/Illustrator Biographies: Richard Peck from the Educational Paperback Association
- "Books for the Readers of the 21st Century" by Richard Peck, The Ezra Jack Keats Lecture, March 24, 2000
- Scholastic.com: Authors & Books: Richard Peck's Interview Transcript interview by students
- Featured Author: Richard Peck at Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
