Bruce Brooks (born September 23, 1950) is an American writer of

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

Background

Brooks, born in Richmond, Virginia, lived most of his young life in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

as a result of parental divorce. Brooks credits moving around multiple times between the two locations with making him a keen observer of social situations. Switching schools often and having to make new friends evolved his ability to tell good stories. He graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1972, and the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative W ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

in 1980. Before earning a living as a writer, Brooks had worked as a

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker com ...

operator and a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

for

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

and

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

. Brooks has reported a very diverse list of influences, like

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, P.G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler. Brooks has three sons: Alex, born 1984; Spencer, 1992; and Drake, 2006. He lives with Ginee Seo in Berkeley, California.

Acclaim

The Moves Make the Man ''The Moves Make The Man'' is a sports novel written by author Bruce Brooks that deals with many issues in society including racism, domestic violence, abuse, and family deaths. It was chosen best book of 1984 by School Library Journal (SLJ), ...

'' was chosen best book of 1984 by ''

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 ...

'' (SLJ), ALA Notable Children's Book, notable book of the year ''

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 d ...

'', and won the

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

and a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), s ...

in 1985. ''Midnight Hour Encores'' was chosen best book of 1986 by SLJ, a best book for young adults by the ALA, Horn Book Fanfare Honor List book in 1987, teacher's choice by the

National Council of Teachers of English The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum ...

that same year, a young adult choice by the

International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...

in 1988, and an ALA Booklist "best of the 1980s" book for young adults. ''No Kidding'' was cited as a

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 ...

by the ALA, ALA Booklist Young Adult Editor's Choice, a Best Book by SLJ, and a Notable Children's Trade Book in social studies. ''Everywhere'' was a Notable Children's Book by the ALA, and a Best Book by SLJ.

Works

Fiction

* ''The Moves Make the Man'' ( Harper Keypoint Books, 1984) * ''Midnight Hour Encores'' (Harper, 1986) * ''No Kidding'' (Harper, 1989) * ''Everywhere'' (HarperCollins, 1990) * ''What Hearts'' (HarperCollins, 1992) * ''Asylum for Nightface'' (New York: Laura Geringer Books/HarperCollins, 1996) * The Wolf Bay Wings, published by Laura Geringer – featuring a youth hockey team # ''Woodsie'' (1997) # ''Zip'' (1997) # ''Cody'' (1997) # ''Boot'' (1998) * ''Each a Piece'', illustrated by Elena Pavlov (HarperCollins, 1998) – "Rhyming text and illustrations with some cut-outs reveal that things are often more than they seem at first." * ''Vanishing'' (Laura Geringer, 1999) * ''Throwing Smoke'' ( Scholastic Books, 2000) * ''All That Remains'' (

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athen ...

, 2001) * ''Dolores: Seven Stories About Her'' (Laura Geringer, 2002)

Nonfiction

* ''On the Wing: The Life of Birds from Feathers to Flight'' (

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

, 1989) * Knowing Nature, published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

in association with Thirteen/WNET, illustrated ** ''Predator!'' (1991) ** ''Nature by Design'' (1991) ** ''Making Sense: Animal Perception and Communication'' (1993) * ''Boys Will Be'' ( Henry Holt & Co., 1993) * ''Those Who Love the Game: Glenn "Doc" Rivers on life in the NBA and elsewhere'', Brooks and

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

(Henry Holt, 1993),

References

External links

Bruce Brooks
at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Bruce American children's writers Newbery Honor winners Writers from New York (state) Writers from North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni People from Berkeley, California Writers from Richmond, Virginia 1950 births Living people Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni