Christopher Paul Curtis

Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis in 2014
Born (1953-05-10) May 10, 1953
Flint, Michigan, USA
Occupation Writer, speaker
Alma mater University of Michigan–Flint
Period 1995–present
Genre Children's literature, especially historical fiction
Notable works
Notable awards Newbery Medal
2000
Website
nobodybutcurtis.com

Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953)[1][2] is a writer of children's books. He is known for the Newbery Medal-winning Bud, Not Buddy and the critically acclaimed The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963.

Early life and education

Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan, on May 10, 1953, to Dr. Herman Elmer Curtis, a chiropodist and factory worker/supervisor, and Leslie Jane Curtis, an educator. He has set many of his books in Flint.

Curtis is a product of the Flint school system. He attended Dewey Elementary, Clark Elementary, Pierce Elementary (in the Academically Gifted Program), Whittier Junior High School, and McKinley Junior High School (where, in 1967, he became the first African-American student to be elected to student council in the school's 32-year history). He graduated from the school of Flint Southwestern High School in 1972 at the age of 19.[3] He graduated from the University of Michigan–Flint in 2000.[4]

The summer after graduating from high school, Curtis became a member of a Lansing-based theatrical/musical group called Suitcase Theater. The group was directed by Powell Lindsay and performed musical numbers and the works of Langston Hughes. The group performed in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Canada, and the United States.

Work and writing career

Curtis spent 13 years after high school working on the assembly line of Flint's Fisher Body Plant #1.[3] His job entailed hanging car doors on Electra 225s and LeSabres. He later claimed his experience left him with an aversion to getting into large cars, particularly Buicks. After quitting Fisher Body, he took a series of low-paying jobs. He worked as a groundskeeper at Stonegate Manor housing cooperative in Flint, Flint campaign co-manager for United States senator Donald Riegle, customer service representative for Mich Con in Detroit, temporary worker for Manpower in Detroit, and warehouse clerk for Automated Data Processing in Allen Park, Michigan.

In 2009, he received a Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the University of Windsor. Curtis won the 2009 Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature, which honors a "nationally acclaimed author who has made a significant contribution to the field of literature and young adults".

Curtis appeared on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS on January 11, 2005. He appeared on The Today Show Book Club in 2007.

Published books

Curtis also edited Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into, a collection of scary children's stories published in 2010 by Scholastic.

Awards, honors, and nominations

The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963

Bud, Not Buddy

Mr. Chickee's Funny Money

Bucking the Sarge

Elijah of Buxton

References

  1. ↑ Judy Levin, Allison Stark Draper, Christopher Paul Curtis (The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005), ISBN 978-1-4042-0458-4, p. 84.
      Excerpts at Google Books. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  2. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions at Random House website. Archived January 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 Carol Azizian. "Flint native wins second Newbery Honor Award for children's book". Flint Journal. January 14, 2008. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  4. ↑ "Alumnus Honored with Second Newberry". University of Michigan–Flint. March 31, 2009. Archived May 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
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