James Patterson was born on March 22nd, 1947 is an incredibly prolific author who mostly specializes in thrillers but also dabbles in the non-fiction, young adult, and romance genres. However, before he became a best-selling author with more than 95 titles under his belt, he worked in advertising.
Best-selling crime novelist Mickey Spillane was born on March 9, 1918. Born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn, New York, he was the only child of his Irish bartender father, John Joseph Spillane and Scottish mother Catherine Anne. Spillane was brought up in the tough neighborhood of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Under the tutelage of his mother, he grew up “less tough,” reading Melville and Dumas before he was even eleven years old.
Wilhelm Grimm, the younger of the famous Grimm Brothers, was born on February 24, 1786 in Hanau, Germany. From his earliest days until his death he and his elder brother Jacob Grimm would remain the dearest of friends. They were in fact only two of the nine children that Phillip and Dorthea Grimm had between the years of 1783 and 1795, but they grew up sharing a bed and shared all their belongings throughout their lives.
Jeff Shaara, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 21st, 1952. He is a novelist in his own right and the son of the famed Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Shaara. Both he and his father specialized in books on war.
The simple act of reading a story with your child is a powerful one. But simple words on texts are not enough on their own; the most enduring children's stories pair wonderful stories with compelling illustrations. Thus, children's illustrators are just as important as children's authors.
Sinclair Lewis captivated the Amercan public with his wry criticism of capitalism and materialism as threats to American civilization. He was born on February 7,1885, in the village of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The youngest of three boys, Lewis was sensitive and unathletic, turning not to sports and girls as his older brothers did, but to books and diaries.
Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, Edith Warton was born on January 24, 1862 into the family of George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander in New York City. Her family was incredibly wealthy and was said to have been the family upon which the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” originated. As a result of this wealth, Wharton enjoyed a privileged upbringing and traveled extensively throughout Europe a member of Society at every turn, this led to a writing style which through its use of dramatic irony was supremely critical of the upper class and its way of life.
When you think of a great read, you probably don't think about mountaineering, but Maurice Herzog’s account of his climb of Annapurna, the world’s tenth highest peak, is acclaimed as one of the best sports books ever written. It's also the bestselling mountaineering book ever written and figures prominently into many a sports- or mountaineering-focused collection.
Terence Dean Brooks, better known as Terry, was born on January 8, 1944 in the rural Midwestern town of Sterling, Illinois. It was in this rural town that Brooks spent much of his formative years. Without much else to do, he spent the majority of his time relaxing in Sinnissippi Park and day dreaming up the stories that would one day make him a bestselling author. This park would eventually become the setting for his Word & Void trilogy.
Madeleine L’Engle was born on November 29th 1918 in New York City. Her prolific output of over sixty books, journals, and anthologies has transcended the genres in which they were written, as well as generations. While she is widely regarded as an author of children’s books, L'Engle exhibited a tremendous literary range, writing fiction for adults, books of poetry, plays, and religious meditations, as well as memoirs of her family. Almost all of her works were deeply personal, rooted in her life and beliefs.
