World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Richard Peck

リチャード・ピーク

Richard Peck

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-04-10 （Decatur, Illinois, U.S.）
Died
2018-05-23 （Manhattan, New York City, U.S.） age 84
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Decatur, Illinois, U.S. → Stuttgart, Germany (stationed during military service) → New York City, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Teacher (former)
Active Years
1972-2018
Affiliations
Louisiana State University, School of Library and Information Sciences (adjunct)
Nominations
National Book Award finalist (A Long Way from Chicago)

Education

DePauw University
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1952–1956
Year of Graduation: 1956
Country: United States
Spent junior year abroad at the University of Exeter
University of Exeter (junior year abroad)
Period: 1954–1955 (junior year)
Country: United Kingdom
Study abroad; degree completed at DePauw University
Southern Illinois University
Degree: Master's degree
Period: 1957–1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: United States
Completed master's degree

Awards

Margaret A. Edwards Award
1990
Organization: American Library Association (YALSA)
Result: Winner
ALAN Award
1990
Organization: The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN)
Result: Winner
Edgar Award (Best Juvenile)
1977
Work: Are You in the House Alone?
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Winner
Newbery Medal
2001
Work: A Year Down Yonder
Organization: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result: Winner
National Humanities Medal
2001
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Result: Recipient
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
2004
Work: The River Between Us
Organization: Scott O'Dell Award Committee
Result: Winner
Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award
2004
Organization: Educational Paperback Association
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Year Down Yonder

2000 Young adult fiction / Historical

Set in 1929 in the American Midwest, the book follows a girl's year living with her stern grandmother, a linked collection of stories about family, growth and humor.

FamilyComing of ageRural communityHumor

A Long Way from Chicago

1998 Young adult fiction / Linked stories

A linked collection of stories about siblings who visit their grandmother each summer, featuring Midwestern life, humor and nostalgia.

NostalgiaFamilyHumor

Don't Look and It Won't Hurt

1972 Young adult fiction

A teenage girl struggles to find her place within her family and the wider world; one of Peck's early novels.

AdolescenceFamilySelf-discovery

Are You in the House Alone?

1976 Juvenile thriller

A teenage girl faces frightening events in this thriller; the book won the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile.

FearDangerComing of age
Adaptations
  • [TV movie] Are You in the House Alone? (TV movie) (1978)

The River Between Us

2003 Historical fiction / Young adult

A historical novel set after the Civil War about friendship and family among children from different backgrounds.

HistoryFriendshipReconciliation

The Best Man

2016 Young adult fiction

A story about friendship and growing up, touching on themes of marriage and social change.

FriendshipComing of ageDiversity

Bibliography

  • Don't Look and It Won't Hurt (1972)
  • Dreamland Lake (1973)
  • The Ghost Belonged to Me (1975)
  • Are You in the House Alone? (1976)
  • A Long Way from Chicago (1998)
  • A Year Down Yonder (2000)
  • The River Between Us (2003)
  • The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts (2004)
  • Here Lies The Librarian (2006)
  • The Best Man (2016)

Adaptations

  • The Ghost Belonged to Me (1976 film)
  • Are You in the House Alone? (1978 TV movie)
  • Child of Glass (1978 TV movie)
  • Father Figure (1980 film)
  • Gas Food Lodging (1992; based on Don't Look and It Won't Hurt)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Warm, humorous proseNarration from young people's perspectivesClear, conversational style
Recurring Motifs
Family and intergenerational relationshipsRural / Midwestern communityPast and memoryHumor and humanity

Health

  • Cancer
    数年（晩年）
    Long battle with cancer; resulted in death in 2018

Legacy

Richard Peck was widely recognized for his sustained contributions to young adult literature, earning awards such as the Newbery Medal and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. His books remain popular with readers and in educational settings.

Academic Societies

  • American Library Association (YALSA)
  • The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN)

Archives

  • De Grummond Children's Literature Collection, The University of Southern Mississippi (Richard Peck papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Several works were adapted into TV movies and films
  • Frequently featured in school libraries and reading curricula in the U.S.

Quotes

  • The only way you can write is by the light of the bridges burning behind you.
    Source: Statement at a PEN panel in New York City, February 8, 2010 (2010)
  • Ironically, it was my students who taught me to be a writer, though I had been hired to teach them.
    Source: Speech published in Arkansas Libraries (date not specified)
  • Nobody, but a reader, ever became a writer.
    Source: Source unspecified

Trivia

  • Wrote on an electric typewriter and was reluctant to adopt new technology.
  • Published 41 books in 41 years.
  • Won the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1990; six of his works were cited by the award panel.
  • Lived in New York in later life and died of cancer in 2018.
  • His papers are held in the De Grummond Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi.
  • Spoke publicly about being a gay man and the perspective it brought to his work.