Howard Jeffrey Gottesfeld (born 1956) is an American novelist, playwright, and screen and television writer. In recent years he has focused on writing texts for picture books for children, grades two and up.

Biography

Gottesfeld grew up in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

, attended

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

, and then the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

. Gottesfeld has written freelance for numerous magazines and newspapers, and continues to publish essays on such subjects as the ongoing controversy over the

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

, immigration policy, and trends in young adult fiction. Among his favorite authors are

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern literature, Southe ...

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ...

, and George Orwell. His fiction ranges from elementary age children to adult. For television, he has written for such shows as '' Smallville'' and ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

''. Songs for which he wrote the lyrics have been recorded by such country artists as Mitchell John. Together with

Cherie Bennett Cherie Bennett (born 1960 in Buffalo, New York) is an American novelist, actress, director, playwright, newspaper columnist, singer, and television writer on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Biography The writing was no ...

, he has written under the pen name

Zoey Dean Zoey Dean is the pseudonym for the creators of ''The A-List'' series and ''How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls'', which has been renamed and turned into a TV show known as '' Privileged'' on the CW in September 2008. Zoey Dean's books are produced b ...

. His first picture book is The Tree in the Courtyard, published by Random House/Knopf in March, 2016. It received starred reviews in

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

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, with ...

. His 2020 children's book, ''No Steps Behind'', documents the life and activism of

Beate Sirota Gordon Beate Sirota Gordon (; October 25, 1923 – December 30, 2012) was an Austrian-born American performing arts presenter and women's rights advocate. She was the former Performing Arts Director of the Japan Society and the Asia Society and was ...

. It is the winner of the 2020 NCTA Freeman Award, for the best children's book about Asia. It was also a runner-up finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Award. His March, 2021 picture book, with illustrations by Matt Tavares, is Twenty-One Steps, published by

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...

. By early February 2021, it had garnered a number of starred reviews, as well as praise from the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

. It is about the origins of the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

and the Tomb Guards who stand sentinel there, every moment of every day.

Television credits

*''

Broken Bridges ''Broken Bridges'' is a 2006 film starring Toby Keith, Lindsey Haun, Burt Reynolds and Kelly Preston. The film, a music-drama, is centered on a fading country singer's return to his hometown near a military base in Tennessee where several young m ...

'' (2006) ''

'' (hired by

Lynn Marie Latham Lynn Marie Latham is an American television writer, producer, and showrunner. Her initial foray into writing for television was as a story editor for the series '' Berrenger's'' in 1985. That same year, Latham became a writer for the nighttime ser ...

) *

Script Writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

: December 14, 2006 - December 21, 2007; March 18 - August 19, 2008 *Associate Head Writer: July 2007 - December 21, 2007; March 18 - July 10, 2008 ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' * Breakdown Writer: 2005 ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes pl ...

'' * Story Consultant: 1998 '' Another World'' * Story Consultant: 1997 ''Girls Got Game'': 2006 '' Smallville'': 2001 - 2002

Films

*''

'' (Writer: 2006)

Books

Book Series *

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

(seven original novels) *Mirror Image (four book series) * Robinson's Hood (three book series) * Campus Confessions (four book series) Six Book Series *''University Hospital'' *''Teen Angels'' *''Trash'' * 'Amen, L.A.' * 'SuperFan!' * 'SuperFan #2: Tag-Teamed!" Other Books *''A Heart Divided'' *''Anne Frank And Me'' * ''Turn Me On'' (writing as Cherie Jeffrey, with Cherie Bennett) *''The Tree in the Courtyard'' (illustrated by Peter McCarty) *''No Steps Behind'' (Creston, 2020), (illustrated by Shiella Witanto) * ''Twenty-One Steps'' (Candlewick, 2021) (illustrated by Matt Tavares)

Plays

* 'A Heart Divided' * ' Anne Frank and Me" (with Cherie Bennett) * '10 x 10' (ten short plays about values, editor) * 'Does My Head Look Big in This?' (with Elizabeth Wong) * "The World's Strongest Librarian" (with Elizabeth Wong)

References

External links

Official website:biographyJeff Gottesfeld Interview: Author of new WWE book – SuperFan!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottesfeld, Jeff 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Colby College alumni American television producers American soap opera writers American male screenwriters Daytime Emmy Award winners 1956 births Living people Soap opera producers University of San Francisco School of Law alumni Novelists from New Jersey Jewish American writers American male television writers American male essayists 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from New Jersey Teaneck High School alumni 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American Jews