Margaret Bechard (born 1953) is an American author of contemporary and science fiction for children and
young adults
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 ...
.
Biography
Bechard was born in 1953 in
Chico, California. She received her
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
from
Reed College
Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...
in 1976. She is married to Lee Boekelheide and they have three sons and four grandchildren. She lives in
Tigard,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
.
Bechard served as the Young People's Literature Chair of the 2006
National Book Award
The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
Committee. Her books are published in English, French, Swedish and Korean. She teaches in the
MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...
.
Awards
In 1996, ''Star Hatchling'', a middle grade novel about
first contact, received the
Eleanor Cameron
Eleanor Frances (Butler) Cameron (March 23, 1912 – October 11, 1996) was a children's author and critic. She published 20 books in her lifetime, including '' The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet'' (1954) and its sequels, a collection of ...
Award, a
Golden Duck Award
The Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction were given annually from 1992 to 2017. The awards were presented every year at either Worldcon or the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). In 2018 they were repla ...
for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction.
''Hanging on to Max'', a story about a teenage father, was an
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
The American Library Association's (ALA) Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommended list of books presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Ad ...
and
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
Best Book of the Year in 2004.
[Yampbell, Cat. "Judging a Book by its Cover: Publishing Trends in Young Adult Literature." ''The Lion and the Unicorn'' 29.3 (2005) 348–372. (Johns Hopkins University Press)]
Bibliography
*''My Sister, My Science Report'' (1990)
*''Tory and Me and the Spirit of True Love'' (1992)
*''Really No Big Deal'' (1994)
*''Star Hatchling'' (1995)
*''My Mom Married the Principal'' (1998) - a sequel to ''Really No Big Deal''
*''If It Doesn't Kill You'' (1999)
*''Hanging on to Max'' (2002)
*''Spacer and Rat'' (2005)
References
interviews
Leitich Smith, Cynthia. "Author Interview: Margaret Bechard on Spacer and Rat. Cynsations. February 10, 2006.
External links
*
:sv:Margaret BechardPenguin Press: Biography: Margaret Bechard*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechard, Margaret
American children's writers
Reed College alumni
People from Tigard, Oregon
1953 births
People from Chico, California
Living people
Writers from California
Writers from Oregon
20th-century American writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American writers
21st-century American women writers
American women children's writers