Pat Schmatz (born ca. 1960) is an American author of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

and middle grade fiction, best known for their James Tiptree Jr. Award winning novel ''Lizard Radio.'' Others of their well-known and award-winning works include ''Bluefish'' and ''The Key to Every Thing''.

Personal life

Schmatz grew up in rural Wisconsin. The Outsiders by

S.E. Hinton Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially ''The Outsiders (novel), The Outsiders'' (1967), which she wrote during Secondary education in the United Stat ...

was a life-changing book for them growing up. They read it in sixth grade and it ultimately made them decide that they wanted to start writing for children.

Selected works

Their second novel and first young adult book, ''Mousetraps'', tells the story of a teen dealing with homophobia and bullying after her childhood best friend who suddenly disappeared turns up again. It was published in 2008 by Carolrhoda and a nominee for the Lambda Literary Award in Children's/Young Adult in 2008. ''Bluefish'', their fourth novel, is about a boy moving to a new town where he lives with his alcoholic grandpa. He is befriended by a difficult and hilarious classmate who helps him see things in a new way. It was published by Candlewick in 2011 and received several starred reviews. ''Bluefish'' was a nominee for the

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) annually recognizes one new American children's book selected by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren. It was inaugurated in 1957. The award is co-spon ...

in 2013 and the

California Young Reader Medal The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books and fiction books selected by vote of California schoolchildren from a ballot prepared by committee. The program was established in 1974 with Int ...

for Middle School/Junior High in 2015. It won the Crystal Kite Award in 2012 and the

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young peo ...

in 2015. Schmatz's fifth novel, ''Lizard Radio'', is set in a world just slightly tilted from our own, where teens have to commit to a gender and "benders" are dealt with harshly. In the novel, a fifteen-year-old bender teen struggles in a culture that tries to define everyone by strict binaries. It was published by Candlewick in 2015. ''Lizard Radio'' won the James Tiptree Jr. Award in 2015.

Bibliography

Young adult fiction * ''Mousestraps'' (Carolrhoda, 2008) * ''Circle the Truth'' (Carolrhoda, 2010) * ''Lizard Radio'' (Candlewick, 2015) Middle grade fiction * ''Mrs. Estronsky and the U.F.O.'' (Little Blue Works, 2001) * ''Bluefish'' (Candlewick, 2011) * ''The Key to Every Thing'' (Candlewick, 2018)

Awards

Won 2012 * Crystal Kite Award for ''Bluefish'' (Candlewick, 2011) 2015 * James Tiptree Jr. Award for ''Lizard Radio'' (Candlewick, 2015) * Josette Frank Award for ''Bluefish'' (Candlewick, 2011) 2019 * Minnesota Book Award for "The Key to Every Thing." Nominations 2008 * Lambda Literary Award in Children's/Young Adult for ''Mousestraps'' (Carolrhoda, 2008) 2013 * Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award for ''Bluefish'' (Candlewick, 2011) 2015 * California Young Reader Medal for Middle School/Junior High for ''Bluefish'' (Candlewick, 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmatz, Patrick Living people 21st-century American novelists Michigan State University alumni 1960 births Genderqueer people American transgender writers American non-binary writers