Betsy Byars (7 August, 1928 – 26 February, 2020) was an children’s books daughter from North Carolina. Her 1971 novel, The Summer of the Swans, won the Newbery Medal.
Fun Facts about Betsy Byars:
1. Betsy Cromer was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to George and Nan Byars. Her father was a cotton mill executive, and her mother, a homemaker.
2. Young Ms. Cromer spent her childhood during the Great Depression. Her family was still well off enough to send her to college. At first, when attending Furman University, she majored in math, but switched to English when transferring to Queens College.
3. After graduating she met Edward Ford Byars, a graduate student. The couple married and had three daughters and a son. After moving around a bit, the family settled in Virginia where Mr. Byars taught at West Virginia University. Two of their daughters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers, are published children’s books authors. They even collaborated with their mom on a few books.
4. This is when Mrs. Byars started writing, and eventually she got published in national magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and TV Guide.
For those not born with a year starting in “19-“, TV Guide was a weekly publication which listed which shows were going to be shown that week, and was the best selling magazine in the US.
5. Her first novel, Clementine, was rejected nine times before being published in 1962. When The Summer of the Swan was published in 1971, and she won the Newbery Medal, it established Betsy Byars as a new and strong voice in middle-grade literature.
6. When her four children were young, Mrs. Byars wrote during nap times and school hours. At her peak popularity, she published 12 books a year for over 20 years.
7. Betsy Byars also tutored as a part time, job. One of her students, who had intellectual disabilities, inspired Charlie in The Summer of the Swans. The idea from the book came from an article she read in her college alumni magazine about swan migration.
8. Mrs. Byars is one of the few authors who won the three major awards (“triple crown”) for young people’s literature. The Newbery Medal (The Summer of the Swans), the National Book Award (The Night Swimmers), and an Edgar Award (Wanted…Mud Blossom).
9. Betsy Byars books were tremendously popular. She was named “one of the ten best writers for children in the world” by the British literary journal Signal, won the 1987 Regina medal from the Catholic Library Association for her lifetime work, and named one of the top 100 authors by the Educational Paperback Association.
10. Mrs. Byars also wrote realistic fiction, and the popular mystery Heculeah Jones series. She got her private pilot’s license in her 50s, and the couple lived in Seneca, South Carolina in an airpark community.
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Sources:
Betsy Byars | Wikipedia
Obituary: Betsy Byars | Publisher’s Weekly
Betsy Byars facts for kids | Kids Encyclopedia Facts
