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Gary Paulsen Facts

Gary Paulsen Facts
Gary Paulsen is an American young adult author who focuses on wilderness tales, most famous for his novels Dogsong, Winter Room, and Hatchet. He was born Gary James Paulsen on May 17th, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Eunice and Oscar Paulsen. Gary developed a love of reading as a young boy. At the age of seven his mother took him to the Philippines to live with his father but both parents were alcoholics and after two years he returned to the U.S. with his mother. At 14 he ran away and worked as a carnival hand for the summer. He spent 3 years in the army and then worked at construction, as a sailor, truck driver, and ranch hand. He eventually decided to try writing, and found his voice in the wilderness/youth genre.
Interesting Gary Paulsen Facts:
Gary Paulsen grew up in relative poverty due to his parent's alcoholism.
Gary Paulsen graduated from high school in 1957 with only a D- average.
When Gary Paulsen decided to write he took a job as a proofreader and wrote in his free time at night.
Gary Paulsen eventually decided that to write he needed to move to a remote cabin. He lived in a cabin in northern Minnesota.
Some of Gary Paulsen's early novels include Some Birds Don't Fly (1967), The Special War (1966), Some Birds Don't Fly (1968), and The Implosion Effect (1976).
Gary Paulsen's series Brian's Saga began being published in 1987 with Hatchet. He followed with The River (1991), Brian's Winter (1991), Brian's Return (1999), and Brian's Hunt (2003).
Gary Paulsen's series the Mr. Tucket Saga includes Mr. Tucket (1969), Call Me Francis Tucket (1995), Tucket's Ride (1997), Tucket's Gold (1999), and Tucket's Home (2000).
Other series written by Gary Paulsen include the Murphy series, Alida's series, World of Adventure, Tales to Tickle the Funnybone, and the Culpepper Adventures.
Many of Gary Paulsen's books are coming of age stories with the wilderness as their settings.
Gary Paulsen didn't have much recognition or success as a writer until he wrote about his experiences in the Iditarod.
Gary Paulsen has competed in the famous Iditarod (Alaskan sled dog race) on two occasions. He wrote two books, Winterdance, and Woodsong, about his Iditarod experiences.
In addition to the young adult, coming of age wilderness stories he writes, Gary Paulsen is also known for his western, humor, and non-fiction books.
Some of the non-fiction titles written by Gary Paulsen include The Grass-Eaters: Real Animals (1976), Hiking and Backpacking (1978), Eastern Sun, Winter Moon (1993), and Father Water, Mother Woods (1994).
Gary Paulsen is known to write for as many as 20 hours a day.
Gary's wife is an illustrator of books. Her name is Ruth Wright Paulsen.
Gary Paulsen has written more than 200 books, for both children and adults.
The Newbery Honor has been awarded to Gary Paulsen three times for his books titled The Winter Room, Hatchet, and Dogsong.
Gary Paulsen won the ALA Margaret Edwards Award in 1997 for his 'significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature'.


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