Katherine Paterson

{{Infobox writer

| name = Katherine Paterson

| image = Katherine Paterson Politics and Prose 2011 crop.jpg

| caption = Paterson in 2011

| pseudonym =

| birth_name = Katherine Womeldorf[http://lccn.loc.gov/n79074318 "Paterson, Katherine"]. Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved October 31, 2015.

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1932|10|31}}

| birth_place = Huai'an, Jiangsu, Republic of China (1912-1949)

(now China)

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = {{ubl | King University | Presbyterian School of Christian Education | Union Theological Seminary}}

| occupation = Writer

| spouse = {{marriage|John Barstow Paterson|1962|2013|end=died}}

| children = 2, including David L. Paterson

| nationality = American

| period = 1973–present

| genre = Children's and young-adult novels

| subject =

| movement =

| notableworks = {{plainlist|

}}

| awards = {{ubl | National Book Award (1977; 1979) | Newbery Medal (1977; 1981) | Hans Christian Andersen Award (1998) | Astrid Lindgren Award (2006) | NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature (2007) | Children's Literature Legacy Award (2013)}}

| signature =

| website = {{URL|www.terabithia.com}}

}}

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson (born October 31, 1932) is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975–1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007{{cite web|url=http://neustadtprize.org/2007-nsk-neustadt-prize-laureate-katherine-paterson/#.U0ctXP3mzwI|title=2007 – Katherine Paterson - The Neustadt Prize|date=June 11, 2013|website=Neustadtprize.org|access-date=December 21, 2017}} and the Children's Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.

Early life

Katherine Womeldorf was born in Huai'an, Republic of China (Now China){{cite journal |last1=Paterson |first1=Katherine |title=Timeline: Katherine Paterson |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=18–29 |jstor=40159727 }} to Presbyterian missionaries G. (George) Raymond and Mary Womeldorf.{{cite web |title=2007 NSK Prize Winner Katherine Paterson |url=https://www.neustadtprize.org/2007-nsk-neustadt-prize-laureate-katherine-paterson/ |website=The Neustadt Prizes |publisher=The Neustadt Prizes |access-date=April 2, 2019|date=June 11, 2013 }} Her father supported her family by preaching and heading Sutton 690, a boys' school. The Womeldorf family lived in a Chinese neighborhood and immersed themselves in Chinese culture. She attended Shanghai American School where her family briefly lived in the school dormitories.{{Cite news |last=Richards |first=Samuel J. |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Terabithia Author Talks Writing Process and Recalls Schooldays at SAS |url=https://www.tieonline.com/article/3348/terabithia-author-talks-writing-process-and-recalls-schooldays-at-sas |work=The International Educator}} When Katherine was five years old, the family fled China during the Japanese invasion of 1937. Her family returned to the United States at the onset of World War II.{{cite journal |title=Katherine Paterson: Laureate of the 2007 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |page=18 |jstor=40159722 }}

Paterson said during World War II, her parents and four siblings lived in Virginia and North Carolina, and when her family's return to China was indefinitely postponed, they moved to various towns in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, before her parents settled in Winchester, Virginia. The Womeldorf family moved 15 times over 13 years.{{cite book |last1=Snodgrass |first1=Mary Ellen |title=Beating the Odds: A Teen Guide to 75 Superstars Who Overcame Adversity |date=August 30, 2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO, Incorporated |isbn=9780313345647 |page=109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g69zCgAAQBAJ&q=raymond+womeldorf+sutton+690&pg=PA109 |access-date=April 2, 2019}}

Higher education

Paterson's first language was Chinese, and she initially experienced difficulty reading and writing English. She overcame these challenges and, in 1954, graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from King College in Bristol, Tennessee. She then spent a year teaching at a rural elementary school in Virginia before going to graduate school.{{cite journal |last1=Paterson |first1=Katherine |title=Timeline: Katherine Paterson |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |page=20 |jstor=40159727 }} She received a master's degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, where she studied Bible and Christian education.{{cite journal |last1=Paterson |first1=Katherine |title=Fighting the Long Defeat: The 2007 NSK Prize Lecture |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |page=21 |jstor=40159727 }} Paterson had hoped to become a missionary in China, but its borders were closed to western citizens. A Japanese friend pushed her to go to Japan instead, where she worked as a missionary and Christian education assistant. While in Japan, Paterson studied both Japanese and Chinese culture, which influenced much of her subsequent writing.

Writing years

Paterson began her professional career in the Presbyterian Church in 1964 by writing curriculum materials for fifth and sixth graders.{{cite journal |last1=Paterson |first1=Katherine |title=Timeline: Katherine Paterson |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |page=24 |jstor=40159727 }}

In 1966, she wrote the religious education book Who Am I?. While continuing to write, she was unable to get any of her novels published. After being persuaded, Paterson took an adult education course in creative writing during which her first novel was published. Her first children's novel, The Sign of the Chrysanthemum, was published in 1973. It is a work of historical fiction, set in the Japanese medieval period; it is based on Paterson's studies in Japan. Bridge to Terabithia, her most widely read work, was published in 1977. Terabithia was highly controversial due to some of the difficult themes, but is the most popular book she has written.{{cite web|title=Top Ten Most Challenged Book List|url=http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10|website=American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom|access-date=30 January 2018|date=2013-03-27}}

Some of her other books also feature difficult themes such as the death of a loved one. In her 2007 NSK Prize Lecture at the University of Oklahoma, Paterson said she has spent the last "more than forty years" of her life as a writer, and her books seem "to be filled with heroes of the most unlikely sort."{{cite journal |last1=Paterson |first1=Katherine |title=Fighting the Long Defeat: The 2007 NSK Prize Lecture |journal=World Literature Today |date=May 2008 |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=19–24 |jstor=40159723 }}

Recent years

Paterson lives in Barre, Vermont. Her husband John Barstow Paterson, a retired Presbyterian pastor, died in 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesargus/obituary.aspx?pid=167320814|title=John B. Paterson Sr. Obituary|date=October 4, 2013|publisher=Barre Montpelier Times Argus|access-date=January 15, 2016}} She has four children and seven grandchildren.{{cite web|title=Biography of Katherine Paterson, Author of "Bridge to Terabithia"|url=http://katherinepaterson.com/biography/|website=Katherine Paterson|access-date=December 24, 2016|archive-date=December 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208003533/http://katherinepaterson.com/biography/|url-status=dead}}

On April 28, 2005, Paterson dedicated a tree in memory of Lisa Hill (her son David's childhood friend who became the inspiration for Bridge to Terabithia) to Takoma Park Elementary School. In 2006, she released Bread and Roses, Too. She was inspired to write this book after seeing a photograph of 35 children taken on the steps of the Old Socialist Labor Hall in Barre captioned, "Children of Lawrence Massachusetts, Bread and Roses Strike come to Barre".

She has written a play version of the story by Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. It was performed at a conference of the Beatrix Potter Society in Fresno, California in April 2009.

In January 2010, Paterson replaced Jon Scieszka as the Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a two-year position created to raise national awareness of the importance of lifelong literacy and education.{{cite web|url=http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6713507.html?rssid=190 |title=Katherine Paterson Named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature |publisher=School Library Journal |access-date=January 7, 2013}}Rich, Motoko. (January 5, 2010) [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/books/05paterson.html "New Envoy's Old Advice for Children: Read More"], The New York Times

In 2011, Paterson gave the Annual Buechner Lecture at The Buechner Institute at her alma mater, King University.{{Cite web |title=Katherine Paterson Named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature {{!}} A! Magazine for the Arts |url=https://www.aamearts.org/magazine/article/katherine-paterson-named-national-ambassador-for-young-peoples-literature/2010011820291158102 |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=www.aamearts.org}}

In January 2013, Paterson received the Children's Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association, which recognizes a living author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made "a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children". Citing Bridge to Terabithia in particular, the committee noted that "Paterson's unflinching yet redemptive treatment of tragedy and loss helped pave the way for ever more realistic writing for young people."

As of 2022, Katherine Paterson is a vice-president of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a non-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.[http://www.thencbla.blogspot.org "The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance"]. The NCBLA. Retrieved April 20, 2022.

Writing style

In Paterson's novels, her youthful protagonists face crises by which they learn to triumph through self-sacrifice. Paterson, unlike many other authors of young adult novels, tackles themes often considered to be adult, such as death and jealousy. Although her characters face dire situations, Paterson writes with compassion and empathy. Amidst her writing of misery and strife, Paterson interlaces her writing with wry wit and understated humor. After facing tumultuous events, her characters prevail in triumph and redeem themselves and their ambitions. Paterson's protagonists are usually orphaned or estranged children with only a few friends who must face difficult situations largely on their own. Paterson's plots may reflect her own childhood in which she felt estranged and lonely.

Works

Awards

The Hans Christian Andersen and Astrid Lindgren Awards are the two major international awards recognizing career contributions to children's literature.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award is the highest honor from US professional librarians for contributions to American children's literature.

Paterson has also won many annual awards for new books, including the National Book Award (The Master Puppeteer, 1977; The Great Gilly Hopkins, 1979);

[https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1977 "National Book Awards – 1977"]. National Book Foundation (NBF). Retrieved 2012-02-27.
(With acceptance speech by Paterson.)

[https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1979 "National Book Awards – 1979"]. NBF. Retrieved February 27, 2012.

the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award (Master Puppeteer, 1977); the Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia, 1977; Jacob Have I Loved, 1981); the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (Jip, His Story, 1996). Twenty years after its publication, Of Nightingales That Weep won the 1994 Phoenix Award as the best children's book that did not win a major contemporary award.

= Awards for body of work =

E. B. White Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2019-literature-award-winners/|title=2019 Literature Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters|language=en-US|access-date=March 12, 2019}}
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, 2013
NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature 2007
Astrid Lindgren Award for Lifetime Achievement 2006
Literary Light, Boston Public Library 2000
Living Legend, Library of Congress 2000
Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing 1998
Lion of the New York Public Library 1998
Who's Who in American Women 1995 to present
King College, Outstanding Alumnus 1993-1994
Education Press Friend of Education Award 1993
Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature, Tulsa Public Library 1993
New England Book Award 1992
US Nominee Hans Christian Andersen Award 1989–90
Regina Medal, Catholic Library Association 1988
Children's Literature Award, Keene State College 1987
Kerlan Award, University of Minnesota 1983
The University of Southern Mississippi Medallion 1983
Scott O'Dell Award for Children's Literature 1982
US Nominee Hans Christian Andersen Award 1979–80
Who's Who in America 1978 to present
The Union Medal, Union Theological Seminary (New York){{when|date=July 2013}}

Adaptations

Bridge to Terabithia has been adapted into film twice, the 1985 PBS version and the 2007 Walden Media production version. One of the producers and screenwriters for the later version was Paterson's son David L. Paterson, whose name appears on the dedication page of the novel.

Paterson's 1980 novel, Jacob Have I Loved, was adapted into a 1989 made-for-television film by the Public Broadcasting Service as part of their children's anthology series WonderWorks .

Her short story "Poor Little Innocent Lamb" was adapted into the 2002 television film Miss Lettie and Me.{{cite magazine|last=Fries|first=Laura|title=Miss Lettie and Me|date=December 4, 2002|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2002/tv/reviews/miss-lettie-and-me-1200544509/|access-date=October 4, 2017}}

Another of her novels, The Great Gilly Hopkins, was adapted into a film, written by David L. Paterson, in 2015. Her fantasy-novel release The Flint Heart has been optioned by Bedrock Films.{{cite web |last1=Rivas |first1=Laura |title=Flint Heart Press Kit |url=http://www.theflintheart.com/resources/FlintHeart_PressKit.pdf |website=The Flint Heart |publisher=Candlewick Press |access-date=April 2, 2019}}

References

{{Reflist |25em |refs=

[http://www.alma.se/en/Award-winners/2006-Katherine-Paterson/ "2006: Katherine Paterson: Brilliant Psychologist Gets Right Under the Skin"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019122434/http://www.alma.se/en/Award-winners/2006-Katherine-Paterson/ |date=October 19, 2012 }}. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Retrieved 2012-08-14.

[http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=273 "Hans Christian Andersen Awards"]. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Retrieved August 20, 2012.

[http://www.literature.at/viewer.alo?objid=14769&viewmode=fullscreen&scale=3.33&rotate=&page=93 "Katherine Paterson"] (pp. 98–99, by Eva Glistrup).

[http://www.literature.at/viewer.alo?objid=14769&viewmode=fullscreen&scale=3.33&rotate=&page=105 "Candidates for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 1956–2002"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130114185952/http://www.literature.at/viewer.alo?objid=14769&viewmode=fullscreen&scale=3.33&rotate=&page=105 |date=January 14, 2013 }} (pp. 110–18).

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002. IBBY. Gyldendal. 2002. Hosted by Austrian Literature Online. Retrieved 2013-07-23.

{{cite web|url=http://read.gov/cfb/ambassador/ambassador.html |title=Katherine Paterson named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature |access-date=July 23, 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025082506/http://read.gov/cfb/ambassador/ambassador.html |archive-date=October 25, 2011 }}. Library of Congress. January 10, 2010. Archived 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2010-03-23.

[http://www.read.gov/cfb/ambassador/emeritus.html "Emeritus – National Ambassador for Young People's Literature"]. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2013-07-23.

[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present"]. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).

[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery "The John Newbery Medal"]. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-07-23.

[http://www.childlitassn.org/images/resources/resources-Children-squo-s_Lit_-_Phoenix_Award_Brochure_2012.pdf "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
See also the current homepage, [http://www.childlitassn.org/index.php?page=about&family=awards&category=06--Phoenix_Award&display=27 "Phoenix Award"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320175700/http://www.childlitassn.org/index.php?page=about&family=awards&category=06--Phoenix_Award&display=27 |date=March 20, 2012 }}.

{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605221218/http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/wildermedal |archive-date=June 5, 2013 |year=2013 |url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/wildermedal|title=Welcome to the (Laura Ingalls) Wilder Medal Home Page |publisher=ALSC. ALA |access-date=June 10, 2013}}

[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/wildermedal/wilderpast "Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, Past winners"]. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).

[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/wildermedal/wilderabout "About the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award"]. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-10.

}}

External links

{{official website |www.terabithia.com }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20061004014916/http://www.thencbla.org/biopages/biopaterson.html Katherine Paterson] at NCBLA Board of Directors
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141211082419/http://www.thencbla.org/boardinterviews/patersoninterview.html Interview of Paterson] at NCBLA (archived 2014-12-11)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100215063912/http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/visionaries/KatherinePaterson "Read for Your Life": A Conversation with Katherine Paterson, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature], February 11, 2010
[http://oldlaborhall.com/ Barre's Old Labor Hall]
[http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/paterson Video interview of Patterson] at ReadingRockets.org
{{LCAuth|n79074318|Katherine Paterson|73|}}
[http://lccn.loc.gov/n85290031 John Barstow Paterson] at LC Authorities, with 7 records, and [http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n85290031/ at WorldCat] (husband John B. Sr.)
[http://lccn.loc.gov/nb2010032268 John B. Paterson] at LC Authorities, 1 record (son John B. Jr.)