He detailed further adventures of the main character in such books as Brian’s Winter (1996), Brian’s Return (1999), and Brian’s Hunt (2003). Paulsen also was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1988 for Hatchet (1987), a survival story set in the Canadian wilderness. The book was based on Paulsen’s experiences running the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska. Dogsong (1985), the story of an Inuit boy reconnecting with his heritage through a dogsled excursion, was chosen as a 1986 Newbery Honor Book. They featured young protagonists making discoveries about themselves and their world by facing natural challenges.

Paulsen often wrote coming-of-age novels. Following his discharge in 1962, Paulsen held such diverse jobs as satellite technician, trapper, editor, truck driver, and migrant farmworker before making writing his career. He left Minnesota’s Bemidji State College (now Bemidji State University) in the late 1950s to serve in the U.S. During his teenage years Paulsen discovered reading as a break from the turbulence of his parents’ alcoholism and other family problems. He suffered continuous uprooting upon their return to the United States because of his father’s military career. He lived in the Philippines with his parents from 1946 to 1949. He was reared by his grandmother and other members of his extended family while his father served in World War II and his mother worked in Chicago, Illinois. Gary James Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Edwards Award for overall achievement in young adult literature. In 1997 the American Library Association honored Paulsen with the Margaret A.

The Catholic Library Association recognized his literary contributions with the 1995 Regina Medal. He was noted especially for his fast-paced and powerfully written novels for young adults. Prolific American author Gary Paulsen wrote some 200 books of fiction and nonfiction for young people and adults.

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