Patricia McKissack

Patricia C. McKissack (née Carwell; August 9, 1944 – April 7, 2017) was a prolific African-American children's writer. She was the author of more than 100 books, including Dear America books A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl; Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North; and Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl. She also wrote a novel for The Royal Diaries series: Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba. Notable standalone works include Flossie & the Fox, The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural (1992), and Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? (1992). What is Given from the Heart was published posthumously in 2019.

McKissack lived in St. Louis. In addition to her solo work, she co-wrote many books with her husband, Fredrick, with whom she also co-won the Regina Medal in 1998. McKissack died in April 2017 at the age of 73.

Patricia McKissack was also a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a national not-for-profit that actively advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.

She also published under the names L'Ann Carwell, Pat McKissack , and Patricia C. McKissack.

Biography Patricia L'Ann Carwell was born to parents Robert and Erma Carwell on August 9, 1944, in Smyrna, Tennessee. She was inspired to be a writer by her mother, who liked to read her the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, and by her grandparents who told her many stories. Her grandfather's stories usually included the names of her and siblings Nolan and Sarah. Many of the childhood stories she heard from her mother and grandparents later became stories she wrote as an author of books for children and young adults. Other stories, such as Goin' Someplace Special (2000), incorporated McKissack's lived experiences. In Goin' Someplace Special, she recalled her favorite place to go as a child, which was the Nashville Public Library. The library was one of the few places in downtown Nashville that was not segregated, so it became a place where McKissack always felt welcome and where she learned her love for reading. She graduated with an English degree in 1964, while Fredrick obtained a civil engineering degree.

Career In 1975, Patricia McKissack began her professional writing career. In 1980, she became a full-time author. Her family moved to St. Louis, where she started a writing service. Her husband, Fredrick, also became interested in writing and researching for non-fiction books. One of their goals as a couple was to introduce children to African-American history and the historical figures that went along with it. Fredrick was the researcher of the pair, while Patricia mostly wrote up the research. They worked together to make manuscripts that suited them both, and together they aimed to make history come alive in stories for children. She and Fredrick believed strongly in the contributions of African Americans, and it showed in many of the stories they created together.

Patricia and Fredrick co-authored many books together, starting in 1984, It is a book she wrote from childhood memories, describing the 30 minutes before dark on a summer night when her grandmother would tell spooky stories to her grandchildren.

Patricia and Fredrick worked collaboratively on many works including A Long Hard Journey: The Story of Pullman Porter, which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 1990. They also were the authors of Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman, which also won the Coretta Scott King Award in 1993. Patricia is also a recipient of a Newbery Honor Book citation (Newbery Medal runner-up), the National Council of Teachers of English's Orbis Pictus Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and an NAACP Image Award. After Fredrick's death the McKissacks jointly received the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Awards

1990: Coretta Scott King Award, winner, A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter (Fredrick & Patricia) 1990: Jane Addams Children's Book Award, winner, A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter (Fredrick & Patricia) 1993: Carter G. Woodson Book Award, winner, Madam C.J. Walker (Patricia & Fredrick) 1993: Coretta Scott King Award, winner, The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural 2014: Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (Fredrick & Patricia)