Edward Irving Wortis (born December 23, 1937), better known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Avi, is an American author of

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. He is a winner of the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

and twice one of the runners-up (

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

Biography

Avi and his twin sister were born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Joseph Wortis Joseph Wortis (October 2, 1906 – February 22, 1995) was an American psychiatrist, longtime editor of the scientific journal ''Biological Psychiatry'', and a professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is remembered today for ...

, an American-Jewish

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

and Alsatian-Jewish descent, and Helen Wortis, a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. When he was one year old, his sister gave him the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"Avi".About Avi
avi-writer.com Both Avi's grandfathers were writers, and one grandmother was a playwright. In interviews, he recalled his mother reading to him and his sister every night, and going to the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

on Fridays. He is also the first cousin of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning actor

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

. Avi's parents transferred him from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

to Elisabeth Irwin High School, a smaller

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

. At his new school, he studied with a tutor, Ella Ratner, whom he credits for his writing success. He struggled in school due to suffering from

dysgraphia Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder and learning disability that concerns impairments in written expression, which affects the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) as well as a ...

, a writing disorder. Avi has written 80 books, almost entirely for

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and

s. Along with ''The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle'', he has written books for different age groups and in many different

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s including historical fiction,

fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

, graphic novels, comedies, mysteries, ghost stories, adventure tales, realistic fiction, and picture books. Avi has won awards for some of his books, including a

for ''

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle ''The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle'' is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character a ...

'' in 1991 and another for '' Nothing but the Truth'' in 1992. His fiftieth book, '' Crispin: The Cross of Lead,'' was awarded the

in 2003. Avi's book ''Iron Thunder,'' about the ironclad ''Monitor'' and its battle with the CSS ''Virginia'' in Hampton Roads, Virginia, was selected as the 2009 Beacon of Freedom Award winner by Williamsburg Regional Library and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In 2006, Avi wrote a sequel to ''Crispin: The Cross of Lead'' titled '' Crispin: At the Edge of the World.'' In the third part of the series, '' Crispin: The End of Time'' was published in 2010. His most recent novels, ''Catch You Later, Traitor'' and ''Old Wolf'' were met with critical success. In 2016, a collection of short stories was published by Candlewick Press, ''The Most Important Thing: Stories about Sons, Fathers, and Grandfathers.'' After living in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

in the 1980s and 1990s, Avi now lives in the Rocky Mountains of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, with his wife, Linda Cruise Wright.

Works

Standalone works

* ''Scout's Honor'' * ''Things That Sometimes Happen: Very Short Stories for Little Listeners'' (1970) * ''Snail Tale'' (1972), re-published in 2004 as the ''End of the Beginning: Being the Adventures of a Small Snail'' * ''No More Magic'' (1975) * ''Captain Grey'' (1977) * ''Emily Upham's Revenge'' (1978) * ''The History of Helpless Harry'' (1980) * ''The Man from the Sky'' (1980) * ''A Place Called Ugly'' (1981) * ''Who Stole the Wizard Of Oz?'' (1981) * ''Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name'' (1982) * ''Devil's Race'' (1984) * '' The Fighting Ground'' (1984) * ''S.O.R. Losers'' (1984) * ''Bright Shadow'' (1985) * ''Wolf Rider'' (1986) * ''Romeo and Juliet, Together (and Alive!) At Last'' (1987) * ''

Something Upstairs ''Something Upstairs'' (also published as ''Something Upstairs: A Tale of Ghosts'') is a 1988 young adult historical thriller fiction novel written by Avi. It concerns a 12-year-old boy named Kenny Huldorf who has moved to a new area and discove ...

'' (1988) * ''The Man Who Was Poe'' (1989) * ''

'' (1990) * '' Nothing But the Truth'' (1991) * ''WINDCATCHER'' (1991) * ''Blue Heron'' (1992) * ''Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?'' (1992) * ''City of Light, City of Dark'' (1993) * ''Punch with Judy'' (1993) * ''The Barn'' (1994) * ''Smugglers' Island'' (1994) * ''Tom, Babette, & Simon: Three Tales of Transformation'' (1995) * ''Beyond the Western Sea, Book 1: The Escape From Home'' (1996) * ''Beyond the Western Sea, Book 2: Lord Kirkle's Money'' (1996), also published as ''Beyond the Western Sea, Book 2: Into The Storm'' * ''Finding Providence: the Story of Roger Williams'' (1997) * ''What Do Fish Have To Do with Anything?'' (1997) * ''Perloo the Bold'' (1998) * ''Abigail Takes the Wheel'' (1999) * ''Amanda Joins the Circus'' (1999) * ''Keep Your Eye on Amanda'' (1999) * ''The Christmas Rat'' (2000) * ''City of Orphans'' (2000) * ''Don't You Know There's a War On?'' (2001) * '' The Good Dog'' (2001) * ''Prairie School'' (2001) * ''Secret School'' (2001) * ''The Mayor of Central Park'' (2003) * ''Silent Movie'' (2003) * ''Never Mind: A Twin Novel'' (2004) * ''The Book Without Words'' (2005) * ''Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation'' (2005) * ''Iron Thunder: The Battle Between the Monitor & the Merrimac'' (2007) * ''The Traitors' Gate'' (2007) * ''A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End'' (2008) * ''Hard Gold: The Colorado Gold Rush of 1859'' (2008) * ''Seer of Shadows'' (2008) * ''Sophia's War: a Tale of the Revolution'' (2012) * ''Catch You Later, Traitor'' (2015) * ''Old Wolf'' (2015) * ''The Most Important Thing: Stories About Sons, Fathers, and Grandfathers'' (2017) * ''School of the Dead'' (2016) * ''The Player King'' (2017) * ''The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts'' (2017) * ''The Button War'' (2018) * ''The End of the World and Beyond'' (2019) * ''Gold Rush Girl'' (2020) * ''Loyalty'' (2022)

Series

''Night Journeys''

* ''Night Journeys'' (1979) * ''Encounter at Easton'' (1980)

''Dimwood Forest''

* ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

'' (1995) * ''Poppy and Rye'' (1997) * ''Ragweed'' (1999) – prequel to ''Poppy'' * ''Ereth's Birthday'' (2000) * ''Poppy's Return'' (2005) * ''Poppy and Ereth'' (2009) * ''Ragweed and Poppy'' (2020) – prequel to ''Poppy'' set after ''Ragweed''

''Beyond the Western Sea''

* ''Escape from Home'' (1996) * ''Lord Kirkle's Money: Beyond the Western Sea, Book 2'' (1996)

''Midnight Magic''

* ''Midnight Magic'' (1999) * ''Murder at Midnight'' (2009) – prequel to Midnight Magic * ''City of Magic'' (2022)

''Crispin''

* '' Crispin: the Cross of Lead'' (2002) * '' Crispin at the Edge of the World'' (2006) * '' Crispin: the End of Time'' (2010)

References

External links

*
Avi
at Scholastic Teachers – first-person narrative and 2005 online interview by students
Lesson plans and other resources
at Web English Teacher * *
Interview with Avi
All About Kids! TV Series #86 (1991) {{DEFAULTSORT:Avi 1937 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century pseudonymous writers Alsatian Jews American children's writers American historical novelists American writers of young adult literature American male novelists American people of Russian-Jewish descent Antioch College alumni Living people Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners Novelists from New York (state) Stuyvesant High School alumni Writers from Brooklyn