{{Short description|American author (born 1957)}} {{for|the Wisconsin politician|Gary J. Schmidt}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox writer | name = Gary D. Schmidt | image = Gary D. Schmidt.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Schmidt at the [[Mazza Museum]] in 2012 | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|4|14}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/children/scholarly-magazines/schmidt-gary-d-1957|title=Schmidt, Gary D. 1957–|website=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref> | birth_place = [[Hicksville, New York]], U.S.<ref>Something About the Author Volume 193, p. 169.</ref> | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Academic, writer | nationality = | education = [[Gordon College (Massachusetts)|Gordon College]]<br>[[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]) | period = | genre = Realistic fiction <!-- prefer more specific --> | subject = | movement = | notableworks = {{plainlist | * ''[[Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy]]'' * ''[[The Wednesday Wars]]'' * ''[[Okay for Now]]'' }} [[Just Like That (Schmidt novel)|Just Like That]] | spouse = {{marriage |Anne E Stickney |December 22, 1979 |December 24, 2013 |end=d.}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/2006/spring/schmidt.htm |title=Opening the Book that is Gary Schmidt |author=Anderson, Myrna DeVries |date=Spring 2006 |magazine=Spark |publisher=Calvin College |accessdate=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=May 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512221120/http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/2006/spring/schmidt.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hamline.edu/HUContent.aspx?pageid=2147508897 |title=Announcing the New Anne Stickney Schmidt Scholarship in Young People's Literature |publisher=Hamline University |accessdate=May 16, 2018 |archive-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517152710/https://www.hamline.edu/HUContent.aspx?pageid=2147508897 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | partner = | children = | relatives = | awards = {{plainlist | * [[National Book Award]] (finalist) * [[Newbery Honor]] * [[Michael L. Printz Award|Printz Honor]] * [[Josette Frank Award]] }} | signature = | website = | portaldisp = }}
'''Gary David Schmidt'''<ref>{{WorldCat|oclc=469937685|name=''Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy''}}.</ref> (born April 14, 1957) is an American author of children's and young adults' fiction books. He currently resides in Alto, Michigan, where he is a professor emeritus of English at [[Calvin University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gary Schmidt {{!}} Two-time Newbery Honor-Winning Author|url=http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/schmidt/about.html|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com}}</ref>
== Life and literary career == === Early life and education === Gary D. Schmidt was born in [[Hicksville, New York]], in 1957. According to Schmidt, he was named after gameshow host Garrison Moore.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TeachingBooks {{!}} Author & Book Resources to Support Reading Education|url=https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?a=1&aid=3157|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.teachingbooks.net}}</ref> As a child, Schmidt says he was underestimated by teachers at an elementary school where students were classified by aptitude. Concerning his early education, Schmidt explained in an interview with [[NPR]]: "If you're Track One you're the college-bound kid; if you're Track Two you'll have a good job; if you're Track Three you're the stupid kid. And I was tracked as Track Three."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/02/28/172877128/with-audubons-help-beat-up-kid-is-okay-for-now|title=With Audubon's Help, Beat-Up Kid Is 'Okay for Now'|publisher=[[NPR]] |department=Backseat Book Club |access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref> After intervention from a concerned teacher, Schmidt found a love for reading, an event which served as inspiration for his novel ''[[Okay for Now]]''.<ref name=":0" />
In the mid-1970s, Schmidt attended [[Gordon College (Massachusetts)|Gordon College]], earning an undergraduate degree in English in 1979. Thereafter he attended [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]], obtaining a master's degree in English in 1981 before graduating with a PhD in [[medieval literature]] in 1985. Schmidt has since worked as a professor for the English department at Calvin University.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://calvin.edu/directory/people/gary-schmidt|title=Gary Schmidt|publisher=Calvin College|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref>
=== Awards and honors === In 2005, Schmidt's novel ''[[Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy]]'' was awarded a [[Newbery Medal|Newbery Honor]], which recognizes "the most distinguished contribution[s] to American literature for children",<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia|title=Book & Media Awards|date=November 30, 1999|work=Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref> and a [[Michael L. Printz Award|Printz Honor]]. In 2008, he was awarded a second Newbery Honor for ''[[The Wednesday Wars]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Gary+Schmidt&qt=results_page|title=Gary Schmidt|publisher=WorldCat.org|accessdate=March 25, 2010}}</ref>
Schmidt's novel ''[[Okay for Now]]'', the 2011 sequel to ''The Wednesday Wars'', was a [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature|National Book Award]] finalist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2011_ypl_schmidt.html#.Wgi_xFtSzIU|title=Gary D. Schmidt, Okay for Now – National Book Award YPL Finalist, The National Book Foundation|website=nationalbook.org|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref> It also was the winner of a 2012 Children's Choice Book Award<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Myrna|title=Schmidt is children's choice|url=https://calvin.edu/news/archive/schmidt-is-children-s-choice|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Calvin University|language=en}}</ref> and listed as a Best Children's Book of the Year from the Children's Book Committee of [[Bank Street College of Education]].
''The Labors of Hercules Beal'' received the [[Josette Frank Award|Josette Frank Award for Fiction]] from the Children's Book Committee and was listed as a Best Children's Book of the Year with Outstanding Merit in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hare |first=Peter |title=Awards |url=https://www.bankstreet.edu/library/center-for-childrens-literature/childrens-book-committee/awards/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Bank Street College of Education |language=en-US}}</ref> Schmidt's work has appeared multiple times on the CBC's Best Children's Book of the Year list, including ''Saint Ciaran'', ''Straw into Gold'', ''Mara's Stories'', ''The Wonders of Donal O'Donnell'', ''Trouble'', ''What Came From the Stars'', ''Martín de Porres'', ''[[Orbiting Jupiter]]'', ''Almost Time'', and ''Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter'' and ''Her Island Garden''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Children's Books of the Year |url=https://www.bankstreet.edu/library/center-for-childrens-literature/childrens-book-committee/best-childrens-books-of-the-year/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Bank Street College of Education |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Personal life === In 1996, Schmidt was diagnosed with [[Lymphoma|lymphatic cancer]]. While being treated, he was exposed to a variety of other cancer patients whose stories, he claims, served as inspiration for future novels and encouraged him to write primarily for children and young adults.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/2006/spring/schmidt.htm|title=Calvin College|website=calvin.edu|access-date=12 November 2017|archive-date=May 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512221120/http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/2006/spring/schmidt.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Schmidt and his late wife, Anne, have six children; one is a teacher.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Myrna|title=Schmidt a finalist for National Book Award|url=https://calvin.edu/news/archive/schmidt-a-finalist-for-national-book-award|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Calvin University|language=en}}</ref> He is a practicing Christian and describes himself as religious.<ref name=":1" /> He also enjoys teaching writing courses in prisons and detention centers, and experiences there served as inspiration for his novel ''[[Orbiting Jupiter]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/gary-d-schmidt/|title=Gary D. Schmidt {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|work=Kirkus Reviews|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref>
=== ''The Wednesday Wars'' Series === In 2007, Schmidt released his award-winning book ''[[The Wednesday Wars]]''. Four years later, in 2011, Schmidt released a companion novel, ''Okay For Now'', followed by the third book of the series, ''Just Like That'', in 2021. BookPage noted, "While each book can be read separately, overlapping characters and themes enrich each other in understated and often profound ways."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-04|title=Just Like That|url=https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/25852-gary-d-schmidt-just-like-that-childrens/|access-date=2022-02-17|website=BookPage {{!}} Discover your next great book!|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Selected bibliography== (In order of publication) *''The Sin Eater'' (Dutton Publishers; New York; 3244) *''The Blessing of the Lord'' (Eerdmans; 1997) *''William Bradford: Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim'' (Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids; 1999) *''Anson's Way'' (Clarion Books; New York; 1999) *''Ciaran: The Tale of a Saint of Ireland'' (Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, MI; 2000) *''Mara's Stories'' (Henry Holt; New York; 2001) *''[[Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy]]'' (New York; Clarion Books; 2004) *''In God's Hands'' (Jewish Lights Publications; Woodstock, Vermont; 2005) *''[[First Boy]]'' (Henry Holt; New York; 2005) *''[[The Wednesday Wars]]'' (Clarion Books; New York; 2007) *''Trouble'' (Clarion Books; New York; 2008) *''Straw into Gold'' (Clarion; 2009) *''[[Okay for Now]]'' (Clarion Books; New York; 2011) *''What Came from the Stars'' (Clarion Books; New York; 2012) *''Martín de Porres: The rose in the desert'' (Clarion; 2012) *''[[Orbiting Jupiter]]'' (Clarion; 2015) *''Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View'' (Del Rey; 2017)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kucinski|first=Matt|title=From Calvin to a galaxy far, far away|url=https://calvin.edu/publication/spark/2017/12/01/from-calvin-to-a-galaxy-far-far-away/|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Calvin University|language=en}}</ref> *''Pay Attention, Carter Jones'' (Clarion; 2019) *''Just Like That'' (Clarion; 2021)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Just-Like-That/9780544084551|title=Just Like That {{!}} HMH Books|website=www.hmhbooks.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-03|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127150626/https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Just-Like-That/9780544084551|url-status=dead}}</ref> *''The Labors of Hercules Beal'' (Clarion; 2023)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Labors of Hercules Beal |url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-labors-of-hercules-beal-gary-d-schmidt?variant=40745049686050 |access-date=March 15, 2023 |website=HarperCollins}}</ref> *''Jupiter Rising'' (Clarion; 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jupiter Rising |url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/jupiter-rising-gary-d-schmidt?variant=41304565219362 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=HarperCollins}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}} *[http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/faculty/schmidt/ Gary Schmidt faculty webpage] at Calvin University *[http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/2006/spring/schmidt.htm Opening the Book that is Gary Schmidt, The Calvin Spark] *[https://www.hmhbooks.com/author/Gary-Schmidt/2230485 Gary D. Schmidt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224001824/https://www.hmhbooks.com/author/Gary-Schmidt/2230485 |date=February 24, 2019 }} at publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt * {{LCAuth|n88122969|Gary D. Schmidt|43|}}
{{Gary D. Schmidt}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Gary}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American children's writers]] [[Category:Newbery Honor winners]] [[Category:Calvin University faculty]] [[Category:Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:People from Hicksville, New York]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:20th-century American male writers]] [[Category:21st-century American male writers]] [[Category:Novelists from Michigan]] [[Category:American Christian writers]]