Harlan Howard Thompson (December 25, 1894 – October 9, 1987) was a writer of children's books. He was a member of

P.E.N. PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

, and its international president from 1958–59, the Western Writers of America and other organizations. He wrote ''Prairie Colt'' under the penname Stephen Holt for which he received the

Boys Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...

gold medal in 1947. Thompson was born December 25, 1894, in Brewster, Kansas. He attended South Pasadena High School.South Pasadena High School Alumni Association - Classes of 1907-2015
/ref> He then attended the University of Southern California from 1917 to 1919, which houses his papers. Among Thompson's books are ''Prairie Colt'', which won the ''Boys Clubs of America'' gold medal in 1947, ''Stormy'', ''We were there with the California forty-niners'', ''Wild Palomino'' and many other juvenile western books.Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2
R. Reginald, Douglas Menville, Mary A. Burgess; Wildside Press 2010; p. 1099 ''Spook the Mustang'' won the silver medal in fiction in the 1956 California Book Awards. For many years, he owned the ''TX Ranch'' in Alberta, Canada. He died on October 9, 1987, in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Harlan Howard 1894 births 1987 deaths People from Thomas County, Kansas Writers from Kansas Canadian ranchers American children's writers University of Southern California alumni