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

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, 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 na ...

Avi,Sandra Q. Williams, American Library Association: . November/December 2005 is an American author of

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. 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 Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), seve ...

Biography

Avi and his twin sister were born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to Joseph Wortis, an

American-Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

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 pop ...

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 work ...

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

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"Avi".About Avi
avi-writer.com Two of 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 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 service, civil servants. There are ...

on Fridays. He is also the first cousin of the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning actor

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

. Avi's parents transferred him from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...

Elisabeth Irwin High School The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...

, a smaller

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

. 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 learning disability of written expression, which affects the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) as well as a transcription disability, meaning that it is a wri ...

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

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

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 form or type 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 for ...

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.Beacon of Freedom Award Winners
. wrl.org 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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

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

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, 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) * ''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'' (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) * ''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 opi ...

'' (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)

''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