Jim Murphy (author)
Jim Murphy | |
---|---|
Born | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | September 25, 1947
Died | May 1, 2022 Woodstock, New York, U.S. | (aged 74)
Occupation | Author |
Spouse(s) | Elaine Kelso (divorced) Alison Blank (m. 1987) |
Children | 2 |
James John Patrick Murphy (September 25, 1947 – May 1, 2022) was an American author. He wrote more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books for children, young adults, and general audiences, including more than 30 about American history.
Early life
Murphy was born in
Career
After graduation, Murphy was employed in construction by his uncle. He then worked as an assistant editorial secretary at
Murphy ultimately authored over 35 books for children and youths throughout his career.[5] One of his early works, Tractors (1984), paved the way for his prevailing writing style of employing first-hand accounts and concentrating on the individuals involved in an event, instead of the event itself. This approach was evident in The Boys' War (1990) and Truce (2009), both of which showed the horrors of war using eyewitness reports from letters, journal entries, oral testimonies, and historic images.[4]
Personal life
Murphy's first marriage was to Elaine Kelso. They eventually divorced.[4] He later married Alison Blank in 1987. They met while working for Seabury Press and remained married until his death.[4][1] Together, they had two children: Michael and Ben.[4] Murphy and Blank were co-authors of Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure, published by Clarion in 2012.[4][7]
Murphy died on May 1, 2022, at his home in Woodstock, New York. He was 74; the cause of death was not known.[4][5]
Awards
The ALA
Beside the Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young-adult literature, the American librarians have named Murphy a runner-up for annual Newbery Medals twice, in 1996 for The Great Fire and in 2004 for An American Plague. The Newbery is the ALA's premier book award for children's literature.[8] Murphy won the ALA award for children's information books, the Robert F. Sibert Medal, for The American Plague in 2004 and he was a runner-up for BLIZZARD! in 2001.[9] The American Plague was also a finalist for the 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[4]
Murphy also won three NCTE Orbis Pictus Awards, three Jefferson Cup Awards, two SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Distinguished Nonfiction, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award.[1] In 2013 he received the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature, presented by the Tulsa Library Trust.[10]
Selected works
Nonfiction
‡ | Denotes five nonfiction book cited by the panel of American librarians who awarded Murphy the 2010 Edwards Award.[2] |
- Weird & Wacky Inventions (ISBN 978-1-63450-203-0
- ISBN 978-1-4395-7884-1
- ISBN 978-0-395-55965-9
- ISBN 978-0-7569-9144-9—incorporating an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's account
- ISBN 978-0-590-47267-8
- ISBN 978-0-395-60523-3—evidently an adaptation of Joseph Plumb Martin's account
- Gone a-whaling: the lure of the sea and the hunt for the great whale (Clarion, 1998) ISBN 978-0-395-69847-1
- ISBN 978-0-590-67309-9
- ISBN 978-0-395-77608-7
- Inside the Alamo (ISBN 978-0-385-90092-8
- Desperate Journey (Scholastic, 2006) ISBN 978-0-439-07806-1—delivering goods by barge on the Erie Canal
- The Real Benedict Arnold (Clarion, 2007) ISBN 978-0-395-77609-4
- A Savage Thunder: Antietam and the bloody road to freedom (ISBN 978-0-689-87633-2
- Truce: the day the soldiers stopped fighting (Scholastic, 2009) ISBN 978-0-545-13049-3
- ISBN 978-0-439-69186-4
- The Giant and How He Humbugged America (Scholastic, 2012) ISBN 978-0-545-53775-9
- Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure, by Murphy and Alison Blank (Clarion, 2012) ISBN 978-0-618-53574-3
Fiction
Horror
- Night Terrors (Scholastic, 1994) ISBN 978-0-590-45342-4
Children's picture books
- The Last Dinosaur, illustrated by Mark Alan Weatherby (Scholastic, 1988) ISBN 978-0-590-41098-4
- ISBN 978-0-590-41940-6
Dear America books
- My Face to the Wind: the diary of Sarah Jane Price, a prairie teacher (Scholastic, 2001) ISBN 978-0-590-43810-0
- The Journal of James Edmond Pease, a Civil War Union Soldier (Scholastic, 1998) ISBN 978-0-590-43814-8
- West to a Land of Plenty : the diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi (Scholastic, 1998) ISBN 978-0-590-73888-0
- The Journal of Brian Doyle: a greenhorn on an Alaskan whaling ship (Scholastic, 2003) ISBN 978-0-439-07814-6
See also
References
- ^ a b c "About the Author". Jim Murphy: Making History Come Alive. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ a b c
"2010 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner Jim Murphy". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
"Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-11. - ^ a b
For vital data Library of Congress Authorities cites 1978 communication with publisher, 1994 communication with Murphy, and the Scholastic Books website.[1]Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Harrison (May 19, 2022). "Jim Murphy, children's author who humanized U.S. history, dies at 74". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Maughan, Shannon (May 18, 2022). "Obituary: Jim Murphy". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "Jim Murphy". Scholastic Teachers. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ISBN 9780618535743.
- ^ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ "Robert F. Sibert Medal and Honor Books, 2001–present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). ALA. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ^ "Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award". James D. Watts Jr. Tulsa World. February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.