Biography on author avi
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Avi Biography
Avi (Edward Irving Wortis) – American author, b. 1937
In 1991, Avi’s seafaring adventure, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990), was first named a Newbery Honor Book and then went on to win the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction. The following year, his novel Nothing but the Truth was chosen as an Honor Book for both those awards. Critics and readers began to reevaluate this author, who had served a lengthy apprenticeship in children’s and young adult books. Although he had long been considered a dependable, solid writer, it had taken twenty years of published work before he was recognized as one of the most talented and inventive authors of his generation.
Born and raised in New York, Avi Wortis was such a poor writer during high school that he required a private tutor. He has credited this tutor with awakening his desire to become a writer. Avi received degrees in theater and history from the University of Wisconsin and attended l
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Avi
Avi was born in New York City in 1937. He grew up in a family of readers, writers, and artists. His twin sister, who gave him the nickname “Avi” at an early age, also became a writer.
Throughout his elementary and high school years, Avi’s teachers complained that his writing was messy and careless. Avi would later find out that he had symptoms of dyslexia, which explained his poor spelling, letter reversals, and other “sloppy” work. After failing out of his first high school, Avi received special tutoring sessions one summer that inspired him to become a writer. Although Avi avoided English classes during college, he continued to read and write voraciously.
Avi originally wanted to become a Broadway playwright. But as he later acknowledged, “I spent a fair number of years writing a whole lot of bad plays.” Avi discovered the world of children’s writing only after he became a father. His first published book was a collection of stories he had invented for his ol
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Avi 1937–
(Edward Irving Wortis)
Personal
Born December 23, 1937, in New York, NY; son of Joseph (a psychiatrist) and Helen (a social worker) Wortis; married Joan Gabriner (a weaver), November 1, 1963 (divorced); married Coppelia Kahn (a professor of English); children: Shaun Wortis, Kevin Wortis; stepchildren: Gabriel Kahn. Education: Attended Antioch University; University of Wisconsin—Madison, B.A., 1959, M.A., 1962; Columbia University, M.S.L.S., 1964. Hobbies and other interests: Photography.
Addresses
Home—Boulder, CO. Agent—Dorothy Markinko, McIntosh & Otis, Inc., 475 5th Ave., New York, NY 10017.
Career
Author of books for children, beginning 1960. New York Public Library, New York, NY, librarian in performing arts research center, 1962-70; Lambeth Public Library, London, England, exchange program librarian, 1968; Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ, assistant professor and humanities librarian, 1970-86. Cofounder of "Breakfast Serials" (reading program)