Louise Seaman Bechtel
Encyclopedia
Louise Seaman Bechtel was an American editor
, critic
, author
, and teacher
of young children.
Bechtel graduated from Vassar College
in 1915 and was the first person to head a juvenile book department established by an American publishing house.
During her fifteen-year tenure as managing editor at the Macmillan
Company (1919–1934), Bechtel shepherded production of more than 600 new books, marking a milestone in the growth and development of American literature for children.
Bechtel was compelled to resign from Macmillan Company in 1934 because of a broken hip, but continued her involvement in the field of children's literature. Between 1949 and 1956, Louise Bechtel worked as editor of the "Books for Young People" section of the New York Herald Tribune
.
Three of the books she published, The Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly
in 1929, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
by Rachel Field
in 1930, and The Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
in 1931, were awarded the Newbury Medal. As an author, Bechtel's best-known books are The Brave Bantam in 1946, and Mr. Peck's Pets in 1947.
Bechtel was married to Edwin DeTurck Bechtel, an attorney, art collector, and authority and scholar of rose culture. She is buried at Saint Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard in Bedford, New York
.
in New York. The Prize is awarded annually in recognition of an exemplary article or essay related to creative writing education, literary studies, and/or the profession of writing.
The winning essay appears in Teachers & Writers magazine, and the author receives a $3,500 honorarium. Possible topics for Bechtel Prize submissions include contemporary issues in classroom teaching, innovative approaches to teaching literary forms and genres, and the intersection between literature and imaginative writing.
, awards a mid-career librarian, with a minimum of eight years experience working with children, $4,000 to spend a month reading and studying at the Baldwin library at the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
.
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
of young children.
Bechtel graduated from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in 1915 and was the first person to head a juvenile book department established by an American publishing house.
During her fifteen-year tenure as managing editor at the Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers (United States)
Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than 30 others....
Company (1919–1934), Bechtel shepherded production of more than 600 new books, marking a milestone in the growth and development of American literature for children.
Bechtel was compelled to resign from Macmillan Company in 1934 because of a broken hip, but continued her involvement in the field of children's literature. Between 1949 and 1956, Louise Bechtel worked as editor of the "Books for Young People" section of the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
.
Three of the books she published, The Trumpeter of Krakow
The Trumpeter of Krakow
The Trumpeter of Krakow, a young adult historical novel by Eric P. Kelly, won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1929....
by Eric P. Kelly
Eric P. Kelly
Eric Philbrook Kelly was an American journalist, academic and author of books for young readers, whose book, The Trumpeter of Krakow, won the Newbery Medal for children's literature in 1929...
in 1929, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years is a children's novel written by Rachel Field and published in 1929. It won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1930....
by Rachel Field
Rachel Field
Rachel Lyman Field was an American novelist, poet, and author of children's fiction. She is best known for her Newbery Medal–winning novel for young adults, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, published in 1929. She won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award twice...
in 1930, and The Cat Who Went to Heaven
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a 1930 novel by Elizabeth Coatsworth that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931. The story is set in ancient Japan, and is about a poor painter and a cat he adopts....
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth was an American author of children's fiction and poetry. Her novel The Cat Who Went to Heaven won the 1931 Newbery Medal....
in 1931, were awarded the Newbury Medal. As an author, Bechtel's best-known books are The Brave Bantam in 1946, and Mr. Peck's Pets in 1947.
Bechtel was married to Edwin DeTurck Bechtel, an attorney, art collector, and authority and scholar of rose culture. She is buried at Saint Matthew's Episcopal Churchyard in Bedford, New York
Bedford (town), New York
Bedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 17,335 at the 2010 census.The Town of Bedford is located in the northeastern part of Westchester County, and contains the three hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah...
.
The Bechtel Prize
In honor of Bechtel, the Bechtel Prize is endowed by the Cerimon Fund and administered by Teachers & Writers CollaborativeTeachers & Writers Collaborative
Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators including Herbert Kohl, June Jordan, Muriel Rukeyser, Grace Paley, and Anne Sexton, who believed that writers could...
in New York. The Prize is awarded annually in recognition of an exemplary article or essay related to creative writing education, literary studies, and/or the profession of writing.
The winning essay appears in Teachers & Writers magazine, and the author receives a $3,500 honorarium. Possible topics for Bechtel Prize submissions include contemporary issues in classroom teaching, innovative approaches to teaching literary forms and genres, and the intersection between literature and imaginative writing.
2006
- Sarah Porter for “‘The Pen Has Become the Character’: How Creative Writing Creates Us”
- Sarah Dohrmann for “Teenage Boy Gunned Down”
- Douglas Goetsch for “A Poetry Stand”
- Louise HawesLouise HawesLouise Hawes is an American academic and author of more than a dozen novels and several short stories. She has served as Writer in Residence at the University of New Mexico and The Women's University of Mississippi, and as a John Grisham Visiting Writer at the University of Mississippi...
for “Thou Shalt Not Tell... or Shalt Thou? A Reconsideration of the First Commandment for Writers” - Chris Malcomb for “Broken Lines”
2007
- Anna Sopko for “Writing Standards”
- Sarah J. Gardner for “Three Writers, Imagination, and Meaning”
- Jeff Kass for “In Search of a True Word”
- Cheryl PallantCheryl PallantCheryl Pallant is a poet, author, dancer, performance artist, and professor who lives in Richmond, Virginia. She has published several books of innovative poetry, a nonfiction book, and has been featured in several anthologies...
for “Gifting Poems: Getting Students to Read Poetry Closely” - Barbara Roether for “Pride and Prejudice on the Barbary Coast”
2008
- Michael Bazzett for “Within Words”
- Cathlin Goulding for “When Twilight Falls: How Documentary Poetry Responds to Social Injustice”
- David Herring for “A Classroom for Old Men: Aging Among Poems and Teenagers”
2009
- Emily RaboteauEmily RaboteauEmily Raboteau is an American fiction writer and City College of New York professor who received an MFA from New York University and whose first novel The Professor's Daughter was published in 2005...
for “Jazz Poetry” - Marcia Chamberlain for “When You Listen Deeply”
- Garth Greenwell for “Reading with the Voice”
2010
- Garth Greenwell for “A Native Music: Writing the City in Sofia, Bulgaria”
- Wilson Diehl for “Getting Creative with the Truth”
- Barbara Feinberg for “Your First Lime”
The Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship at the Baldwin Library
The Bechtel Fellowship, awarded by the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library AssociationAmerican Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, awards a mid-career librarian, with a minimum of eight years experience working with children, $4,000 to spend a month reading and studying at the Baldwin library at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
.