Rita Williams-Garcia

Rita Williams-Garcia (born 1957) is an American writer of novels for children and young adults. In 2010, her novel Jumped was a National Book Award finalist. She won the 2011 Newbery Honor Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for her book One Crazy Summer. She has won the PEN/Norma Klein Award."Rita Williams-Garcia", PEN American Center,  Her 2013 book, P.S. Be Eleven, was a Junior Literary Guild selection, a New York Times Editors Choice Book, and won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2014.And the Newbery, Caldecott award winners are ..., Ashley Strickland, CNN, January 27, 2014 In 2016 her book Gone Crazy in Alabama won the Coretta Scott King Award. In 2017, her book Clayton Byrd Goes Underground was a finalist for the National Book Award for young people's literature.

Life
Williams-Garcia was born in Queens, New York. Her father was in the military. She graduated from Hofstra University in 1980. At Hofstra, she studied with Richard Price and Sonya Pilcer.  She lives in Jamaica, New York. She taught for many years at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

 Awards and accomplishments 
BookDate PublishedAwardsOne Crazy Summer20112011 Coretta Scott King Award Winner
2011 Newbery Honor Book
2011 Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction
2010 National Book Award Finalist
Junior Library Guild Selection
Texas Library Association Best Book for 2010No Laughter Here20042004-BOOKLIST’s Top 10 Black History Titles for YouthJumped2009Booklist Youth Editors’ Choice
National Book Award FinalistEvery Time a Rainbow Dies20012003 Silver Kiss (Bologna Children's Book Fair)
2003-4 Kentucky Blue Grass List
2003-4 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Master List
2002-3 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List
2002 ALA Best Books
2002 ALA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults
2002 Children’s Literature Choice List
2002 New York Public Library Book for the Teen AgeBlue Tights19871991 PEN/Norma Klein Citation (w/FastTalk on a Slow Track)
1989 Youth Advisory Board “A List for Imagination and Survival”
1989 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
1988 Recommended list for the National Conference of Christians and Jews
1988 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (YALSA)
1988 Cooperative Children’s Book Center ChoicesCatching the Wild Waiyuuzee20002001 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books for the YearFast Talk on a Slow Track19911991 PEN/Norma Klein Citation
1991 Best Book for Young Adults (American Library Association)
1991 Parents’ Choice Honors for Storytelling
1992 Recommended list for the National Conference of Christians and Jews
1992 Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (YALSA)Like Sisters on the Homefront1995LA Best Book of the Decade
1997 PEN\Norma Klein Honor
1997 Texas Library Assoc. YA Roundtable List
1996 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
1995 Best Books – School Library Journal
1995 Best Books – Publishers Weekly
1995 Best Books – American Library Association
1995 Books Recommended for Reluctant Readers – ALA
1995 Horn Books Fanfare Award
1996 CBC Notable in the Field of Social Studies- NCSS

References

Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:Writers from New York (state)
Category:American children's writers