Jack Bickham
Encyclopedia
Jack Miles Bickham was an American
author who wrote 75 published novels, of which two were made into movies, The Apple Dumpling Gang
and Baker's Hawk.
. He was an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma
's H.H. Herbert School of Journalism in Norman, Oklahoma
, from 1969 to 1972, associate professor from 1972 to 1979, and full professor in 1979. He directed the annual short course on professional writing from 1973 to 1990. Bickham received the rank of David Ross Boyd Professor, the highest honor the University can bestow for teaching excellence. He died at Norman Regional Hospital following a lengthy battle with lymphoma
.
craft of fiction
. Two of his novels were made into motion pictures: The Apple Dumpling Gang, published in 1971 and filmed in 1975, and Baker's Hawk, published in 1974 and filmed in 1976. Two of his books have been reprinted by Reader's Digest Condensed Books and two have been Detective Book Club selections. He was the 1998 winner of the Arrell Gibson
Lifetime Achievement Award (S.E. Hinton was the 1997 winner). He is a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
As John Miles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author who wrote 75 published novels, of which two were made into movies, The Apple Dumpling Gang
The Apple Dumpling Gang
The Apple Dumpling Gang is a 1971 novel by Jack Bickham, about a group of orphaned children during the California gold rush. They encounter a gambler who reluctantly helps them, as well as a pair of hapless robbers who are after the gold the children have found.In 1975 Disney made a film based on...
and Baker's Hawk.
Life
Jack Bickham was born September 2, 1930, in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. He was an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
's H.H. Herbert School of Journalism in Norman, Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
, from 1969 to 1972, associate professor from 1972 to 1979, and full professor in 1979. He directed the annual short course on professional writing from 1973 to 1990. Bickham received the rank of David Ross Boyd Professor, the highest honor the University can bestow for teaching excellence. He died at Norman Regional Hospital following a lengthy battle with lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
.
Literary career
Jack Bickham wrote 75 published novels, some under the pseudonym of John Miles, and six instructional books on thecraft of fiction
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
. Two of his novels were made into motion pictures: The Apple Dumpling Gang, published in 1971 and filmed in 1975, and Baker's Hawk, published in 1974 and filmed in 1976. Two of his books have been reprinted by Reader's Digest Condensed Books and two have been Detective Book Club selections. He was the 1998 winner of the Arrell Gibson
Arrell Gibson
Arrell Gibson was a historian and author specializing in the history of the state of Oklahoma. He was born in Pleasanton, KS on December 1, 1921. He earned degrees from Missouri Southern State College and the University of Oklahoma...
Lifetime Achievement Award (S.E. Hinton was the 1997 winner). He is a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame.
Selected bibliography
As Jack M. Bickham- Gunman's Gamble (1958 ACE Double D-308 with Draw and Die! by Roy Manning)
- Feud Fury (1959 ACE Double D-384 with Mountain Ambush by Louis Trimble)
- Killer's Paradise (1959 ACE Double D-442 with Rider of Rincon by Rod Patterson)
- The Useless Gun (1960 ACE Double D-462 with The Long Fuse by John A. Latham)
- Hangman's Territory (1961 ACE Double D-510 with The Searching Rider by Harry Whittington)
- Gunmen Can't Hide (1961 ACE Double F-120 with Come In Shooting by John Callahan)
- Katie, Kelly and Heck
- Dopey Dan
- Jilly's Canal
- The Apple Dumpling Gang
- Decker's Campaign
- Target: Charity Ross
- The War on Charity Ross
- The Padre Must Die
- Baker's Hawk (1974 Doubleday & Company, ISBN 0-385-05724-5)
As John Miles
- Dally with a Deadly Doll (1961 ACE Double D-489 with Somebody's Walking Over My Grave by Robert Arthur)