Myron Levoy

Myron M. Levoy (January 30, 1930 – December 30, 2019) was an American author of children's and young adults literature. After graduating from Purdue University he worked as a chemical engineer and was involved in the field of space engineering before becoming a full-time author.

Early life Myron Levoy was born January 30, 1930. He grew up in the borough of Queens, New York City. His mother, Elsie Schwartz, was Hungarian, and his father, Bernard Levoy was a Jewish immigrant from Hanover.

Levoy's exposure to the world of literature began early in his childhood. Writing about his youth, he talked about frequently being taken to the local library with his family, and strongly recalled the "smell and feel of books". While at junior high school, Levoy also took part in a choral speaking class, which made him realize that "words alone, without music, can sing"

Career After graduating from Purdue University with an M.Sc., Levoy started working as a chemical engineer and was also involved in the field of space engineering before becoming a full-time author.

During his aeronautical career, Levoy worked on various projects and ended up with Reaction Motor Division's nuclear technology group, where his most notable work involved research on concepts for a crewed space mission to Mars.

Levoy began writing his first own stories while still at elementary school. He continued writing small stories and poems during high school, and also became the editor of the poetry column of his school's student newspaper.

His young adults novels, in which outsiders and otherwise socially marginalized characters were often at the center of the plot, are not only directed against prejudice and racism, but also describe the challenges of finding one's identity and standing up for oneself. At the respective time of their publication, all of his children's stories and young adult novels received largely favorable reviews, including by The New York Times Book Review and The Horn Book Magazine. Boston Globe–Horn Book Award 1978 honor list for Alan and Naomi Finalist at the National Book Award 1980 for Alan and Naomi Zilveren Griffel 1981 for Alan and Naomi Buxtehuder Bulle 1981 for Alan and Naomi Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur 1981 for Alan and Naomi Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 1982 for Alan and Naomi Preis der Leseratten 1982 for Alan and Naomi and was translated into ten languages. His children's and young adults literature works were especially popular in Germany, where Alan and Naomi received several prizes and was frequently taught in schools up until at least the 2010s; all but one of his books following Alan and Naomi were translated into German, making it the language with the largest count of Levoy's translated works.

In 2013, it was announced that American actor Johnny Depp was considering pursuing the creation of a film based on Levoy's book The Magic Hat of Mortimer Wintergreen, with a script being proposed by English screenwriter Jack Thorne. As of January 2023, no further details or updates have been revealed. It is not clear if any project is still in consideration.thumb

Personal life In 1952, Levoy married Beatrice (née) Fleicher, with whom he would have two children. (only published in a German translation as Eine Liebe in Schwarz-Weiß )