Elizabeth Yates McGreal (December 6, 1905 – July 29, 2001) was an American writer. She may have been known best for the biographical novel '' Amos Fortune, Free Man'', winner of the 1951

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 ...

. She had been a Newbery runner-up in 1944 for '' Mountain Born''. She began her writing career as a journalist, contributing travel articles to ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Many of her books were illustrated by the British artist Nora S. Unwin. Yates wrote a three-volume autobiography: ''My Diary – My World'' (1981), ''My Widening World'' (1983), and ''One Writer's Way'' (1984).

Biography

Elizabeth Yates was born i
Buffalo, New York
"Elizabeth Yates Papers, 1829-1964", Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
/ref> the daughter of Harry and Mary Duffy Yates. She was the seventh of eight children. Her father was a farmer, and she developed a love of animals and nature due to her upbringing while her mother contributed to her love of literature and writing. In 1924, she attended Franklin School before spending a year at Oaksmere, a private school near

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, founded by mathematician Winifred Edgerton Merrill. After her schooling was finished, she moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and began writing book reviews and newspaper articles. In 1929, she married William Henry and the couple moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where they lived for the next 10 years. In 1938, her first book, ''High Holiday,'' was an adult novel set in the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

."Elizabeth Yates; Children's Author" (obit), ''LA Times'', August 4, 2001
/ref> The couple returned to the United States in 1939, and settled in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the ...

. They bought a farm, and a discovery of old artwork during the restoration of the farmhouse prompted Yates to write ''Patterns on the Wall.'' Personal experience formed the basis of many of Yates' novels. Yates conducted writer's workshops at the University of New Hampshire, the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. She also served as the Director of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. Yates was widowed in 1963. She died at a hospice in Concord, New Hampshire on July 29, 2001, at the age of 95.

Recognition

In 1943, ''Patterns on the Wall'' received the Herald Tribune Award. Yates' novel, '' Amos Fortune, Free Man'', received the

, the inaugural William Allen White Children's Book Award, and the Herald Tribune Award. ''Mountain Born'' received a Newbery Honor in 1944, while in 1955 ''Rainbow Round the World'' received the Jane Addams Children's Book Award from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. In 1970, she was given the Sarah Josepha Hale Award "in recognition of a distinguished body of work in the field of literature and letters". In the 1990s, the New Hampshire Association for the Blind began the William and Elizabeth Yates McGreal Society. Yates had been a previous President of the Board, while her husband was the Association's first Executive Director. In 1994, the

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

Public Library created the Elizabeth Yates Award to honor an individual in the greater Concord area who is actively engaged in inspiring young people to read."Elizabeth Yates Award" Concord Public Library Foundation
/ref>

Notable works

Source: * High Holiday (1938) * Climbing Higher (1939) * Patterns on the Wall (1943) * Mountain Born (1943) * Amos Fortune, Free Man (1950) * A Place for Peter (1952) * Rainbow 'round the World: A Story of UNICEF (1954) * Prudence Crandall, Woman of Courage (1955) * Pebble in a Pool: The Widening Circles of Dorothy Canfield Fisher's Life (1958) * The Lighted Heart (1960) * Someday You'll Write (1962) * Carolina's Courage (1964) * Skeezer, Dog with a Mission (1973) * My Diary--My World (1981) * My Widening World (1983) * One Writer's Way (1984)

References

External links

* (mainly as 'Yates, Elizabeth, 1905–', previous page of browse report) {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Elizabeth 1905 births 2001 deaths American children's writers American women novelists Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners Writers from Buffalo, New York People from Peterborough, New Hampshire Novelists from New Hampshire American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American novelists Novelists from New York (state)

Biography

Recognition

Notable works

References

Further reading

External links