Jump to content

Gary Paulsen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 216.73.64.89 (talk) at 20:54, 23 March 2010 (→Murphy series). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
Period1900's
GenreYoung adult fiction
SpouseRuth Wright Paulsen
Signature
Website
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/index.html

Gary Paulsen (born May 17, 1939) 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 and teens.

Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Paulsen was raised by his grandmother and aunts. At the age of 14 he had run away from home to join a carnival. 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 two-time competitor in the 1,150-mile (1,850 km) 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[1].

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 angina, 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 (160,000 m2) 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 intended to compete in the Iditarod again however he is listed in the "Mushers Withdrawn" section of the 2009 race website.

Published Works

The Tucket Adventures

Brian's Saga

Murphy series

Co-authored by Brian Burks

Alida's series

Nightjohn series

World of Adventure

Tales to Tickle the Funnybone

Culpepper Adventures

Other novels

Non-Fiction

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ "New York Times On the Road and Between the Pages, an Author Is Restless for Adventure By ANNE GOODWIN SIDES Published: August 26, 2010"

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Paulsen&oldid=351634837"