Marilyn Sachs

Marilyn Sachs
BornMarilyn Stickle
(1927-12-18)December 18, 1927
New York City, U.S.[1]
DiedDecember 28, 2016(2016-12-28) (aged 89)
San Francisco, California, U.S.[1]
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
EducationHunter College (BA)
Columbia University (MLS)
GenreChildren's literature
Notable worksVeronica Ganz
SpouseMorris Sachs

Marilyn Sachs (December 18, 1927 – December 28, 2016) was an American author of award-winning children's books.

Early life and education

Sachs was born in New York City[1] and grew up in the Bronx. She earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College and a master's in library science from Columbia University.[2] Sachs worked as a children's librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library while working toward her graduate degree.[3][4]

Career

Sachs began focusing on her writing during a leave of absence from her library job in 1954.[4] Unable to sell her first novel, Amy Moves In, she set it aside and moved with her husband and children to San Francisco, California in 1961, taking a job at the Main Library.[4][3][2]

Sachs found a publisher for her book in 1964.[4] By 1968, she had made enough money from her first four published novels to quit her librarian job and become a full-time writer.[2][4] Sachs wrote 40 books in total, between 1964 and 2006.[2]

Personal life

While living in New York, Sachs was active in the political organization American Youth for Democracy, which is where she met her future husband, sculptor Morris Sachs.[4] Sachs continued her activism later in life, fighting for public school integration and demonstrating against the Vietnam War.[2] In 1991, she co-edited The Big Book for Peace; the proceeds were donated to peace organizations.[2][4]

Death

Sachs died in San Francisco[1] on December 28, 2016, at the age of 89.[2][4]

Selected works

  • Amy Moves In. Doubleday. 1964. ISBN 9780590323017.
  • Laura's Luck. Doubleday. 1965. ISBN 9780385056878.
  • Amy and Laura. Doubleday. 1966. ISBN 9780590322997.
  • Veronica Ganz. Dell. 1968. ISBN 9780440792055.
  • The Bears' House. Doubleday. 1971. ISBN 9780385033633.
  • A Pocket Full of Seeds. Doubleday. 1973. ISBN 9780385060912.
  • Matt's Mitt. Doubleday. 1975. ISBN 0385002661.
  • Fleet-Footed Florence (sequel to Matt's Mitt). Doubleday. 1981. ISBN 0385127456.
  • The Fat Girl. E.P. Dutton. 1984. ISBN 9780525440765.
  • Lost in America. Macmillan. 2005. ISBN 9781596430402.
  • First Impressions. Macmillan. 2006. ISBN 9781596431171.

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sachs, Marilyn, GND 13596475X
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h J.K. Dineen (December 31, 2016). "Marilyn Sachs, influential SF author and political activist, dies". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Alethea Helbig; Agnes Perkins (1986). Dictionary of American Children's Fiction, 1960-1984. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313252334. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shannon Maughan (January 5, 2017). "Obituary: Marilyn Sachs". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Book Award Winners" (PDF). Jane Addams Peace Association. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Susan C. Griffith (September 5, 2013). The Jane Addams Children's Book Award: Honoring Children's Literature for Peace and Social Justice since 1953. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 100. ISBN 9780810892033. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  7. ^ Edward Zerin (October 9, 2006). Jewish San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439618172. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  • Interview with Marilyn Sachs at the Children's Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota, All About Kids! TV Series #124 (1992)