A. B. Guthrie Jr. facts for kids

Alfred Bertram Guthrie Jr. (born January 13, 1901 – died April 26, 1991) was an American novelist, screenwriter, and historian. He was famous for writing stories about the American West.

His novel The Way West won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This is a very important award for writers. Also, his script for the movie Shane (1953) was nominated for an Academy Award.

About A. B. Guthrie Jr.

Early Life and Education

Guthrie was born in 1901 in Bedford, Indiana. When he was just six months old, his family moved to Montana. His father became the first principal of the Teton County Free High School in Choteau.

Guthrie loved to read. He started trying to write when he was in high school. He studied journalism, which is writing for newspapers. His father had also worked for a newspaper.

In 1919, Guthrie went to the University of Washington. He later moved to the University of Montana and graduated with honors in 1923. After college, he worked different jobs for a few years.

Career as a Writer

In 1926, Guthrie moved to Lexington, Kentucky. He got a job at a newspaper called the Lexington Leader. For the next 21 years, he worked there as a reporter, city editor, and writer of opinion pieces.

Guthrie published his first novel, Murders at Moon Dance, in 1943.

In 1944, while still working at the newspaper, Guthrie won a special award called the Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University. This allowed him to spend a year at Harvard studying writing. There, he met an English professor named Theodore Morrison. Morrison helped Guthrie learn how to write fiction instead of just news stories.

While at Harvard, Guthrie started writing his famous novel The Big Sky. It was published in 1947. After this book came out, Guthrie left the newspaper.

He started teaching creative writing at the University of Kentucky. During this time, he published The Way West, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. In 1952, he stopped teaching to focus on writing full-time. He moved back to Choteau, Montana. He said it was his "point of outlook on the universe," meaning it was where he felt most inspired.

Hollywood and Later Works

Guthrie continued to write mostly stories about the American West. He even worked in Hollywood for a while. He wrote the screenplays for the movies Shane (1953) and The Kentuckian (1955). For Shane, he was nominated for an Academy Award.

He wrote many other books, including These Thousand Hills (1956), The Blue Hen's Chick (1965), and Arfive (1970). His first collection of short stories, The Big It and Other Stories, came out in 1960.

A. B. Guthrie Jr. died in 1991 at the age of 90. He passed away at his ranch near Choteau, Montana.

Books by A. B. Guthrie Jr.

Western Novels

These books tell stories set in the American West.

• The Big Sky (1947)
• The Way West (1949)
• These Thousand Hills (1956)
• Arfive (1971)
• The Last Valley (1975)
• Fair Land, Fair Land (1982)

Western Mystery Novels

These are mystery stories that take place in the West. They often feature a character named Sheriff Chick Charleston.

• Murders at Moon Dance (1943)
• Wild Pitch (1974)
• The Genuine Article (1977)
• No Second Wind (1980)
• Playing Catch-up (1985)
• Murder in the Cotswolds (1989)

Short Story Collections

• The Big It, and Other Stories (1960): This collection includes a very popular story called "Bargain." It's about a bully, revenge, and how important it is to be able to read and write.

Non-Fiction Books

• The Blue Hen's Chick (1965) - This is his autobiography, telling his own life story.
• Big Sky, Fair Land: the Environmental Essays of A. B. Guthrie Jr. (1988) - A collection of essays about nature and the environment.
• A Field Guide to Writing Fiction (1991) - A handbook with advice on how to write fiction.

Children's Books

• The Big Sky: An Edition For Young Readers (1950)
• Once Upon a Pond (1973)

Poetry

• Four Miles from Ear Mountain (1987)

Movie Screenplays

• Shane (1953)
• The Kentuckian (1955)

Spoken Word Recordings

• A. B. Guthrie Jr., reads from THE BIG SKY (Caedmon, 1974)

See also

In Spanish: A. B. Guthrie Jr. para niños