CJHS ELA Author Talk

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Oscar and Eunice H. (née Moen),[1] Paulsen was raised by his parents and later lived with his grandmother and aunts. At the age of 14, he ran away from home to join a carnival.[citation needed] Paulsen used his work as a magazine proofreader to learn the craft of writing.[citation needed] In 1966, his first book was published under the title The Special War. Paulsen is an outdoorsman (a hunter, trapper, and three-time competitor in the 1,150-mile (1,850 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race).

Much of Paulsen's work features the outdoors and highlights the importance of nature. He often uses "coming of age" themes in his novels, where a character masters the art of survival in isolation as a rite of passage to manhood and maturity. He is critical of technology and has been called a Luddite.[2]

Some of Paulsen's most well-known books are the Hatchet series, although he has published many other popular novels including Dogsong, Harris and Me, and The Winter Room, which won the Newbery Honor. Woodsong and Winterdance are among the most popular books about the Iditarod. Paulsen competed in the 1983 and 1985 Iditarod races. In 1990, because of angina, he gave up dog sledding, which he has described as the most difficult decision he has ever made. After more than a decade spent sailing all over the Pacific, Paulsen got back into dog sledding in 2003. In 2005, he was scheduled to compete in the 2005 Iditarod after a 20-year absence, but he withdrew shortly before the start of the race. He participated in the 2006 Iditarod, but scratched after two days.

L. Stine

Goosebumps® series,

catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestsellin