Milton Meltzer 

At ninety-two years, Milton Meltzer is still living in New York City and is a working writer with books scheduled for publication this year. He has written more than 100 books for young people and adults – mostly history and biography (including those of four presidents:  Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Jackson); but odd topics, too, such as memory, altruism, pacifism, the potato, food, gold, the horse, and many more. 

He doesn’t have a computer – he still types on a portable manual machine as old as Methuselah. And, as he says, “of course, I don’t have a website.” Sometimes one of his daughters, who lives nearby, helps out with her equipment.

Mr. Meltzer is the recipient of two awards honoring him for his lifetime body of work:  the American Library Association’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal. Five of his books have been finalists for the National Book Award. He has won the Carter G. Woodson, Christopher, Jane Addams, Jefferson Cup, Olive Branch, and Golden Kite Awards. His titles frequently appear on the “Best Books of the Year” lists of the American Library Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the New York Times. He is a member of the Authors Guild, American PEN, and the Organization of American Historians.

Despite his age, he says, he hopes to be around to see Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out when it is released in September 2008.

Look for these new books from Milton Meltzer:
Tough Times: A Novel (Clarion Books)
Up Close: John Steinbeck (Viking Juvenile)
Henry David Thoreau: A Biography (Twenty-First Century Books)