Author Spotlight: Patricia MacLachlan

Photo Credit: John MacLachlan 

Patricia MacLachlan's parents were teachers who encouraged her to read when she was a child. Her mother told her "read a book and find out who you are." And read, she did. A lot. She also had a vivid and active imagination. But, she did not write stories then. "I was afraid," she says, "of putting my own feelings and thoughts on a page for everyone to read."

It wasn't until she was 35 years old that she began writing - something she realized she'd always wanted to do. Yet even then, writing still felt scary for her.  She began with a picture book: The Sick Day (1979). Then she wrote her first novel: Arthur, For the Very First Time (1980). And she continued to write. Since then, she has written more than 20 novels and picture books for children, some of them co-written with her daughter Emily. She has also written a series of journal articles on adoption and foster mothers, teleplays of some of her books, and short fiction pieces in anthologies. She says of her work, 

"Each time I write a new piece, whether a novel, a picture book, a speech or anything really, it has so much to do with what I’m going through personally or a problem I’m trying to work out."

After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 1962, Mrs. MacLachlan taught English for 16 years. She has also been a social worker, a lecturer, and a creative writing workshop teacher for both children and adults. She was a board member of the Children's Aid Family Service Agency from 1970-1980, and currently serves on the board of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance. She has been a visiting lecturer at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts since 1986.

Born March 3, 1938, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Patricia (Pritzkau) MacLachlan was raised in Minnesota. She is an only child. She married John MacLachlan in 1962, and they have three grown children. She now lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts with her husband, and two border terriers - Charlie and Emmett.

Sources:
Patricia MacLachlan - Simon & Schuster
Authors and Illustrators - Patricia MacLachlan - HarperCollins Children's
Series Books: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan - Author Information, KidsReads.com
Patricia MacLachlan (1938-) Biography - Personal, Address, Career, Honors Awards, Writings, Adaptations, Sidelights
Q&A With Patricia MacLachlan, by Ingrid Roper, for Publisher's Weekly
About Patricia MacLachlan - Scholastic.com