Gerald Morris (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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

during the time of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. 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. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of f ...

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. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

, with original plotlines. The books at the start of the series focus somewhat on

Sir Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest W ...

, but primarily on Terence, an original character and Gawain's squire. Although the two characters' roles are minor in some books, they remain throughout 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, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

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 Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of ...

and the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

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

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

. 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, with 49,727 members a ...

, 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