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Gary Paulsen wasknown as one of the popular American authors of the young adult genre. He was born as Gary James Paulsen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States on May 17, 1939.

Gary passed away on October 13th, 2021.

He was best known for writing down the coming of age stories often depicting the wilderness. During his writing career, he had penned down over 200 books and an equal number of short stories and magazine articles. Gary has also scripted several few plays mainly for the teenagers. For his excellent contribution to writing teen novels throughout his life, he awarded with the Margaret Edwards Award in the year 1997 by the American Library Association.

Other than the young adult genre, Gary has also written many successful novels based on the literature & fiction, and outdoor & nature genres. Gary was born in an extended family and has a couple of siblings. His father, Oscar Paulsen was an Army Officer and had served during the Second World War. Due to the national duties of his father, Gary was not able to see him until the age of 7. His upbringing was done mostly by his aunts, grandmother and several relatives. When he was 7 years old, he and his mother went to the Philippines to be with his father and stayed there for a couple of years. After returning back to Minnesota, Gary ran away from his house and joined a carnival when he was 14 years old.

Gary says that he was not a dedicated student in his school days, but had developed a passion towards reading books at a very young age. It all started when he was given a novel by a librarian along with his library card to read. He was so touched by the book that he began spending long hours in his apartment’s basement alone and reading multiple books. When he ran away from his home and joined a carnival, he began traveling to different places with the group. This helped him to develop a liking for adventure. After that, he began indulging in different activities like doing rigorous chores on the farms during a youthful summer, working as a construction worker, an engineer, a truck driver, a ranch hand, a sailor. He also took part in the 1180 mile dog race in Alaska race for two rounds. These activities allowed author Gary Paulsen to have enough sources from which he could develop interesting stories. As of today, he lives happily along with his beloved wife named Ruth Paulsen in his house situated in New Mexico. Ruth is a professional artist and works as an illustrator for some of Gary’s books. The couple often divided their time between staying at home together and boating in the Pacific.

During his writing career, author Gary Paulsen has written a total of 5 novel series, all of which are quite successful. One of them is the ‘Brian’s Saga’ series of novels, which consists of a total of 5 books. They are published between the years 1986 and 2003. The first novel of the Brian’s Saga series was published by the Atheneum Books publishing house in the year 1986. It was titled ‘Hatchet’. The plot of this novel is set in Canada and depicts the life story of the main character named Brian Robenson. The first edition of the novel became an instant hit as a modern classic novel as it described the story of Brian Robenson as a 13 year old boy who survives a plane crash with the help of his desperate and dedicated efforts. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, it is shown that Brian Robenson gets stranded in the wilderness of Canada following a plane crash. In order to survive and get back to his normal life, Brian uses his hatchet and his instincts. He shows a great determination and comes out of his misery after saying alive in the wilderness for 54 days of difficulty. In the latest edition of the novel, author Gary Paulsen has added a sidebar commentary by himself and a new introduction. These additions were specifically written for the latest volume of the novel. The descriptions in the plot of the novel are complemented by the detailed pen and ink illustrations by Drew Willis. They are very much interesting and help to add a new dimension to the latest edition of the novel. Author Gary believes that the new additions in the book will be treasured by its fans and by the readers who will be encountering the unforgettable journey of Brian Robenson for the very first time.

The second novel of the series was published under the title ‘The River’. It was published by the Laurel Leaf Library publishing house in the year 1991. This novel depicts the life of the main character named Brian Robenson two years ahead of the first novel. The opening line of the plot of the novel reads, “We want you to do that again”, which seems to change the life of Brian Robenson. Two years before, he was involved in a plane crash and was stranded in the wilderness of Canada alone. He had to strive for 54 days and came out alive with the help of his instincts and a small hatchet. After surviving those difficult days, Brain hopes of never encountering them again. But, he asked by the government to go back to the wilderness and perform his survival tasks again so that it can help the military and the astronauts to learn his survival techniques and use them in difficult situations. However, he will not be going alone this time. A government psychologist named Derek Holtzer will accompany him in the wilderness. He will be observing Brian’s survival techniques, taking notes and reporting back to the government. During the task, they get stuck in a freak storm due to which Derek gets hit by a lightening, thereby falling into coma. Even their radio transmitter becomes dead. Seeing the condition of Derek Brian becomes afraid. He realizes that he needs to take him to a doctor or else he will die of dehydration. Their only hope lies in building a raft and transporting to a trading post a 100 miles down the river. Brian hopes that the map is accurate enough to help them locate the trading post in order to save the life of Derek Holtzer.

2 Responses to “Gary Paulsen”

1. Judith Sarena: 5 months ago

   I have been told that Gary Paulsen wrote a trilogy of crime novels – two of the titles being “Night Rituals” and “Kill Fee”. Can you tell me the title of the third novel? Thank you.

   Reply
   • Graeme: 5 months ago

     I’ve researched it and can’t see a third crime novel by Gary

     Reply