About The Author
GARY PAULSEN
Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a second-generation American. His father's family emigrated to the United States from Denmark, and his mother's family came form Norway and Sweden. Paulsen's father was a career Army officer, and the family moved frequently. He had few friends and did not do well in school. Due to family problems, Paulsen spent much of his growing-up years with his aunts and grandmother. During these years, he was introduced to books by a friendly librarian, and began reading voraciously.
Paulsen attended Bemidjii College from 1957-1958. He paid his tuition by working as a trapper for the state of Minnesota. From 1959-1962 he worked with missiles in the United States Army. Upon his release, he took courses and became a field engineer. He worked as an aerospace field engineer from 1962-1966. During this time he read an article about flight testing and thought getting paid to write about things he liked would be a good way to earn a living.
In order to break into the writing field, Paulsen made up a resume. He was hired as an associate editor by a magazine in Hollywood, California. Although his supervisors realized he had falsified the resume, they were willing to teach him about the writing business, and he worked there for one year. He also worked as a film extra and a sculptor.
The Special War was Paulsen's first book. It was based on his interviews with servicemen who had served in the Vietnam War. In the next twelve years he published 40 books, 200 magazine articles, short stories, and two plays. His topics included hunting, trapping, farming, and young adult and adult fiction. Many of the adventures in his books come from his own experiences. Paulsen has sailed alone to Hawaii, lived in the northern wilderness alone with only a bow and arrow, and driven a motorcycle cross country.
After he published Winterkill in 1977, he was sued for libel. He won the case after a long battle. By this time he was almost bankrupt and had no desire to write, so he returned to trapping predators for the state of Minnesota. During this time a friend gave him a four dog sled team. He took the dogs on a seven day run. At the end of the run he resigned from his job, determined not to kill any more animals.
Next, Paulsen entered the Iditarod, the 1200 mile long dogsled race in Alaska. A publisher gave him the money to enter the race and asked to be the first to see whatever writing Paulsen did after the race. Paulsen published Dancing Carl in 1983. This was originally a narrative ballet for two dancers, and a short version was shown on Minnesota Public Television. He published Tracker, the story of a young boy who is hunting alone for the first time after his grandfather's death, in 1984. This was followed by Dogsong in 1985. Paulsen actually wrote Dogsong while training his team for the Iditarod. It is the story of a young Eskimo boy who takes his dog team across Alaska. It was a Newbery Honor Book in 1986. Hatchet, the story of a young boy lost in the Canadian wilderness for 54 days with nothing but a hatchet, was named a Newbery Honor book in 1988. Several other books have been chosen as American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, Notable Children's books, and National Council of Teachers of English Notable Books in the Language Arts. One of his recent works is Madonna, a collection of stories about some of the strong women he has known. Other works include The Foxman (1977), The Spitball Gang (1980), The Crossing, (1987),The River, (1991), The Haymeadow, (1992), and Nightjohn, (1993).
Mr. Paulsen continues to write and lives in Leonard, Minnesota. He also gives public readings and performances near his home.
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