Bio
Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 30 books, including 15 novels for young people. She has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. Her books have been published in 25 languages and she is the 1998 recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal given by the International Board of Books for Young People.
At the 200th anniversary of the Library of Congress in 2000, she was named one of America’s Living Legends, and in 2006, she was the recipient of the 5 million Kronor Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, given by the Swedish government, and in 2007 was the recipient of the NSK Neustadt Award. She is currently Vice-President of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. Her latest novel, entitled Bread and Roses, Too, was awarded a 2007 Christopher Medal. A picture book, The Light of the World, will be published in early 2008.
She has collaborated with Stephanie Tolan and Steve Liebman on three plays with music, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, THE TALE OF THE MANDARIN DUCKS (based on books she has written), THE TALE OF JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK (based on the book by Beatrix Potter) and an original Christmas musical, GOOD KING WENCESLAS.
Her and Tolan’s latest collaboration is SURVIVING THE APPLEWHITES, based on Tolan’s Newbery Honor book by the same name. Her one-act play, THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE BIRD, appears in the collection Acting Up. The Patersons live in Barre, Vermont. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.
