Gerald Morris (born October 29, 1963
Excerpt from '' Something About the Author'' at highbeam.com) is an American author. Morris is known for his series of stories for preteen and teen readers based in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

during the time of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. Collectively called "The Squire's Tales", the books blend retellings of traditional Arthurian Myths, such as

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English alliterative verse. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot comb ...

and

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

, with original plotlines. The books at the start of the series focus somewhat on Sir Gawain, but primarily on Terence, an original character and Gawain's squire. Although the two characters' roles are minor in some books, they remain throughout the series, whereas main characters from the other books are only mentioned or reappear briefly later in the series. His new series, "The Knights' Tales" is for younger readers and began with ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great'', published in 2008, followed by ''The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short'' in the same year. Next came ''The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True'' in 2011. His most recently published book from this series is ''The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated'', published in 2012.

Personal life

Morris was born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

in 1963, the son of Russell A. Morris. As a child, he spent significant amounts of time in Singapore, where his parents were missionaries. He was educated at the Oklahoma Baptist University and the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

. He married Rebecca Hughes, has 3 children, and now lives in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

. He also lived for a short time in Oklahoma. Apart from writing, Morris is a United Methodist pastor.

Works

Published work

The Squire's Tales

*''The Squire's Tale'' (1998), *'' The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady'' (1999), *'' The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf'' (2000), *''Parsifal's Page'' (2001), *''The Ballad of Sir Dinadan'' (2003), *''The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung Cart Knight'' (2004), *''The Lioness and Her Knight'' (2005), *''The Quest of the Fair Unknown'' (2006), *''The Squire's Quest'' (2009), *''The Legend of the King'' (2010),

The Knights' Tales

*''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great'' (2008), *''The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short'' (2008), *''The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True'' (2011), *''The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated'' (2012)

Other titles

*''Prophecy, Poetry, and Hosea'' (1996),

Accolades

The

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

, a division of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

, included: *''The Squire, His Knight, & His Lady'' in their 2000 list of Best Books for Young Adults and their 2003 list of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults *''The Savage Damsel and The Dwarf'' in their 2001 list of Best Books for Young Adults

References

External links

Gerald Morris
at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Gerald 1963 births Living people Writers from Wisconsin Writers of modern Arthurian fiction Oklahoma Baptist University alumni Writers from Riverside, California People from Wausau, Wisconsin American male writers