Betsy Byars

Betsy Byars
BornBetsy Cromer
(1928-08-07)August 7, 1928
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 26, 2020(2020-02-26) (aged 91)
Seneca, South Carolina, U.S.
OccupationChildren's author, novelist, freelance writer
Education
Period1962–2010
GenreChildren's fiction, Young adult fiction, Historical fiction, Realistic fiction
Notable works
Notable awardsNewbery Medal
1971
National Book Award
1981
Website
betsybyars.com

Betsy Byars (née Cromer; August 7, 1928 – February 26, 2020) was an American author of children's books. Her novel Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal.[1] She has also received a National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The Night Swimmers (1980)[2] and an Edgar Award for Wanted... Mud Blossom (1991).

Byars has been called "one of the ten best writers for children in the world" by Nancy Chambers, editor of the British literary journal Signal,[3] and in 1987 Byars received the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement from the Catholic Library Association.[4] Due to the popularity of her books with children, she was listed as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.[5]

  1. ^ Author's website
  2. ^ "National Book Awards – 1981". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  3. ^ Kuznets, Lois R. (1981). "Betsy Byars' Slice of 'American Pie'". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 5 (4). Johns Hopkins University Press: 31–33. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1857. S2CID 144268031.
  4. ^ "Regina Medal" Archived 2012-04-27 at the Wayback Machine. Catholic Library Association. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  5. ^ "Byars, Betsy". EBMA's Top 100 Authors. Educational Paperback Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.