Industry & Advocacy News
March 27, 2021
We are saddened by the loss of Beverly Cleary, one of the most deeply cherished authors and the inspiration to so many for the love of reading. Miss Cleary joined the Authors Guild in 1957 and remained a member the rest of her life. We are humbled to have called her a member all these years.
Through the neighborhood adventures of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and other memorable characters, her books revolutionized the world of children’s literature. Young readers have long seen themselves in the pages of Miss Cleary’s books, and countless authors have begun their path toward a lifetime of writing after falling in love with her stories.
The former librarian had an uncanny knack for writing stories that were both imminently relatable and bursting with imagination.
Adored across generations and throughout the world, her irresistible tales earned her the Newbery Medal, a National Book Award, a National Medal of Arts, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, and numerous other laurels. Her birthday, April 12, is celebrated nationally as D.E.A.R. Day: Drop Everything and Read.
The Authors Guild sends our most heartfelt condolences to Miss Cleary’s children, family, and friends. Along with her millions of readers, we are indebted to her for the endless joy her writing brought us.
