Betsy Byars
Betsy Byars was an acclaimed American author, born on August 7, 1928, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Initially showing little interest in writing during her youth, she pursued a mathematics degree before transitioning to English at Queens College, where she graduated in 1950. After marrying Edward Ford Byars and raising their four children, she began her writing career in earnest while managing family responsibilities. Byars's literary breakthrough came with her young adult novel, *The Summer of the Swans*, which won the 1971 Newbery Medal and is noted for its empathetic portrayal of childhood and adolescence. Over her prolific career, she authored more than sixty-five books, many of which received accolades and have been translated into multiple languages. In addition to her individual work, Byars collaborated with her daughters on several animal-themed books. She earned notable awards, including the Edgar Award for best mystery for *Wanted...Mud Blossom*. Betsy Byars passed away on February 26, 2020, in South Carolina, leaving behind a rich legacy in children's literature.
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Betsy Byars
- Born: August 7, 1928
- Birthplace: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Died: February 26, 2020
- Place of death: Seneca, North Carolina
Biography
Betsy Byars was born Betsy Cromer on August 7, 1928, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her parents, George Guy Cromer, an executive with a cotton mill, and Nan Rugheimer Cromer, a homemaker, were both avid readers who encouraged their daughter to read. Byars had no interest in writing, however, and none of her teachers praised her writing abilities. She attended Furman College as a math major from 1946 to 1948, and then transferred to Queens College in Charlotte, where she was an English major and graduated in 1950. Three weeks after graduation, she married Edward Ford Byars, an engineering professor, and the couple had four children, Laurie, Betsy Ann, Nan, and Guy.
For five years after her marriage, Byars focused on raising her children and being a faculty wife. In 1955, the family moved to Illinois to enable her husband to work on his doctoral degree, and Byars found she had more free time. She began writing articles for magazines, trying to learn her craft. When her husband’s degree was completed, he found a job at the University of West Virginia and the family moved again.
Byars’s first children’s book, Clementine, was published in 1962, but it was not well received. Encouraged by her husband and children, she kept writing and her fifth book, The Midnight Fox (1968), was a popular and critical success. In 1970, she became famous when she published the young adult novel The Summer of the Swans. Like her earlier books, The Summer of the Swans grew out of personal experiences; the character Charlie is based on students with intellectual disabilities whom Byars had tutored, and the swans were inspired by a story she read in her alumni magazine. She also relied on her growing children to provide both models of child and teenage behavior and honest criticism of her writing.
Byars did most of her writing while her children were in school, and by working eight-hour days she managed to publish one or two books a year for more than twenty years. In the summers, the family traveled around the country assisting her husband with his hobby, sailplane flying. When the children were grown, Byars and her husband moved to South Carolina. In 1983 and 1984, she learned to fly and earned a pilot’s license.
Dozens of Byars’s young adult novels won awards in recognition of their insightful and accurate portrayals of children and adolescents. The Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal, was named an American Library Association Notable Book, and was included on the Horn Book Honor List. The Night Swimmers (1980) won the American Book Award, and Byars won the Edgar Award for best mystery for young readers for Wanted . . . Mud Blossom (1991). She and two of her daughters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers, collaborated on several books about animals, including My Dog, My Hero (2002) and Dog Diaries: Secret Writings of the WOOF Society (2007). She wrote more than sixty-five books over the course of her career. Her titles have been translated into nineteen languages, and many have been adapted for television.
Byars died on February 26, 2020, at her home in Seneca, South Carolina. She was survived by her husband, four children, nine grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Bibliography
Langer, Emily. "Betsy Byars, Author of The Summer of the Swans and Other Children's Classics, Dies at 91. The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/betsy-byars-author-of-the-summer-of-the-swans-and-other-childrens-classics-dies-at-91/2020/03/03/5ffcc350-5c9c-11ea-9055-5fa12981bbbf‗story.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.
Maughan, Shannon. "Obituary: Betsy Byars." Publishers Weekly, 2 Mar. 2020, www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/82566-obituary-betsy-byars.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.
Slotnik, Daniel E. "Betsy Byars, Who Wrote of Deserted Children, Is Dead at 91." The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/books/betsy-byars-dead.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.