Richard Michelson

writer

Richard Michelson received the 2009 Sydney Taylor Gold Medal from the Association of Jewish Librarians for *As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom*. The same year, *A is for Abraham* was awarded the Silver Medal. This is the first time in the award's 41-year history that one author has been honored with their top two awards. Michelson has twice been a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and the Massachusetts Book Award. Four of his books have been New York Public Library Best Books, and *Tuttle’s Red Barn* was a PW Best Book of 2007. His new picture book, *Busing Brewster*, "effectively captures both the promises and the challenges of school integration in the 1970s" (School Library Journal). *Battles and Lullabies*, Michelson’s latest book of poetry for adults, was selected as one of the 12 best books of 2006 by ForeWord Magazine. His poetry has appeared in many anthologies, including *The Norton Introduction to Poetry*. Clemson University named Michelson as the Richard J. Calhoun Distinguished Reader in American Literature for 2008. Michelson represented the USA at The Bratislava Biennial of Children’s Books in Slovakia. He has reviewed books for the *New York Times Book Review* and he owns R. Michelson Galleries.