Patricia McCormick (born May 23, 1956) is an American journalist and writer of realistic fiction for young adults. She has twice been a finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

Career

McCormick graduated from

Rosemont College , mottoeng = I will lift my eyes up to the hills , established = 1921 , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Society of the Holy Child Jesus) , president = J ...

in 1974–1978. McCormick earned an MS from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

in 1985–1986 and an MFA from the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in 1999. She currently lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. McCormick is a frequent contributor to several magazines and newspapers, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...

'', '' Town & Country'', and ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

''."Author Chat with Patricia McCormick"
New York Public Library. Her books rely heavily on research and interviews. To write her novel '' Sold'', McCormick traveled to the brothels of India and the mountain villages of Nepal to interview survivors of sex trafficking. For her book ''Never Fall Down'', she spent a month in Cambodia with a survivor of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. She has worked with

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...

, the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for standing up for her right to an education. The book, ''I Am Malala : How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World'', was published in 2013.

Works

*''

Cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

'' - PUSH, Scholastic (2000) *''My Brother's Keeper'' - Hyperion Books for Children (2005) *'' Sold'' - Hyperion Books for Children (2006) - National Book Award Finalist *
Purple Heart
' - HarperCollins Publishers (2009) *''Never Fall Down'' - (2012) - National Book Award finalist *''I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World'' (2013) *''The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero'' (2016)

Awards, recognition and nominations

In 2002 McCormick's

was named one of the

ALA Best Books for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

for that year. McCormick won an Editor's Choice Award from Booklist and was a

Finalist in 2006 for her book '' Sold''. ;2000 *American Library Association Top Ten Quick Pick 2000 *Children's Literature Council's Choice 2000 *Children's Literature Council's Choice 2000 *Teen People Book-of-the-Month selection 2000 *New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage 2000 ;2002 *American Library Association Best Book of the Year 2002 ;2004, 2006, 2012 *New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage ;2006 *American Library Association, Top Ten List, Best Books of the Year, 2006 *Booklist 2006 Editor's Choice Award *Book Sense Pick, Winter 2006 *Chicago Public Library Best of the Best List, 2006 *Chicago Tribune Best of the Year, 2006*National Book Award Finalist, 2006 *National Public Radio's Best Books of the Year 2006 *New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage 2006 *Publishers Weekly, Best 100 Books of 2006 ;2007 *ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007 *Booklist Top Ten Women's History Books for Youth, 2007 *Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2007 ;2008 *Gustav-Heinemann Peace Prize 2008 ;2009 *IndieBound Pick, Autumn, 2009 *Publishers Weekly, Best 25 Books of 2009 ;2012 *

(Young People's Literature), finalist, ''Never Fall Down'' * New York Times Notable

References

External links

Official website

McCormick at FacebookMother Daughter Book Club.com Interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Patricia 1956 births American writers of young adult literature American children's writers American women journalists Living people Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni The New School alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Women writers of young adult literature 21st-century American women