Evelyn Gibbons recently told me popular children's author and novelist William Kotzwinkle was born in Scranton, PA.
William Kotzwinkle was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on November 22, 1943. A prolific author and screenplay writer, Kotzwinkle began his career writing popular sci-fi novels such as The Firemen and Elephant Boy, which gave him a huge following. He first gained national attention with his 1982 novelization of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; the novelization was so successful that Kotzwinke wrote a sequel titled E.T. The Book of the Green Planet in 1985.
Kotzwinkle has recently discovered new-found success from the younger set as as the co-author (with Glenn Murray) of the popular Walter, the Farting Dog bestselling picture book series.
Kotzwinkle's film credits include the story for 1988's A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and his novel Jack In The Box was self-adapted into the screenplay for the 1990 comedy Book of Love.
Presently, Kotzwinkle lives on an island off the Maine coast with his wife, author Elizabeth Gundy, who also co-authored Walter, The Farting Dog Goes On A Cruise with her husband.
The Lackawanna County Library System has 36 items authored by Kotzwinkle circulating throughout the county--including Fata Morgana, E.T. The Book of the Green Planet, books in the Walter, The Farting Dog series, and several of his sci-fi novels.
Click here to read a 1996 interview with Kotzwinkle about his then-published book The Bear Went Over the Mountain, the story of a bear who journeys to New York City to return a screenplay he finds in the woods, leading to his immediate celebrity.
Much thanks to Evelyn Gibbons for this reference.
