Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton studied at Antioch University, Antioch College and Ohio State University. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is belletristic literature and children's literature. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are children's. Places of work recorded in the authority are Yellow Springs and New York City. Works named in the authority record are M. Higgins, the Great. Distinctions recorded are Hans Christian Andersen Award, MacArthur Fellows Program, Newbery Medal and Edgar Awards.

• Name — Virginia Hamilton • Birth Name — Virginia Esther Hamilton • Born — 12 March 1936 • Birthplace — Yellow Springs, Ohio, U.S. • Died — 19 February 2002 • Place of death — Dayton, Ohio, U.S. • Education — Antioch College (1952-55) The Ohio State University (1957-58) The New School (1958-1960) • Occupation — Author • Genre — Children's books • Notable Works — M. C. Higgins, the Great • Spouse — Arnold Adoff (m. 1960) • Children — 2 • Awards — Newbery Medal Hans Christian Andersen Award MacArthur Fellowship

Hamilton was born March 12, 1936 as the youngest five children and raised in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Hamilton's parents, Kenneth James and Etta Perry Belle, and family encouraged her to read and write widely. She received a full scholarship to Antioch College but later transferred to Ohio State University. She went on to study at The New School. She met poet Arnold Adoff while living in New York City and married him in 1960. The two later returned with their children to live on the farm where Hamilton was raised. Adoff supported the family by working as a teacher, while Hamilton spent her time writing and had two children. In 1967, Zeely was published, the first of more than 40 books. Zeely was named an American Library Association Notable Book and won the Nancy Bloch Award. Hamilton published The Planet of Junior Brown, which was named a Newbery Honor Book and also won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1971. M. C. Higgins, the Great (1974) won the Newbery Medal, making Hamilton the first black author to receive the medal. The book also won the National Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and The New York Times Outstanding Children's Book of the Year.

Hamilton died of breast cancer on February 19, 2002, in Dayton, Ohio, aged 65. Three books have been published posthumously: Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl (2003), Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny (2004), and Virginia Hamilton: Speeches, Essays, and Conversations, edited by Arnold Adoff and Kacy Cook (2010).

• Zeely (1967) • The House of Dies Drear (1968) — Dies Drear, part one • The Time-Ago Tales of Jadhu (1969) • The Planet of Junior Brown (1971) • W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography (1972) • Time-Ago Lost: More Tales of Jahdu (1973) • M.C. Higgins, the Great (1974) • Paul Robeson: The Life and Times of a Free Black Man (1974) • The Writings of W.E. B. Du Bois (1975) • Arilla Sun Down (1976) • Justice And Her Brothers (1978) - Justice Trilogy, book 1 • Dustland (1980) - Justice Trilogy, book 2 • Jahdu (1980) • The Gathering (1981) - Justice Trilogy, book 3 • Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush (1982) • Willie Bea and the Time the Martians Landed (1983) • The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl (1983) • A Little Love (1984) • Junius over Far (1985) • The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon) (1985) • A White Romance (1987) • The Mystery of Drear House (1987) — Dies Drear, part two • In The Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World (Illustrated by Barry Moser) (1988) • Anthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive Slave (1988) • The Bells of Christmas (1989) • Cousins (1990) • The Dark Way: Stories from the Spirit World (1990) • The all Jahdu storybook (1991) • Drylongso (Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney) (1992) • Plain City (1993) • Many Thousand Gone (1993) • Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales (Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon) (1995) • Jaguarundi (1995) • When Birds Could Talk & Bats Could Sing: The Adventures of Bruh Sparrow, Sis Wren, and Their Friends (1996) • A Ring of Tricksters: Animal Tales from America, the West Indies, and Africa (Illustrated by Barry Moser) (1997) • Second Cousins (1998) • Bluish (1999) • The Girl Who Spun Gold (2000) • Time Pieces: The Book of Times (2001) • Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl (Illustrated by James Ransome) (2003) • Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale (Illustrated by Barry Moser) (2004) • The People Could Fly: The Picture Book (Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon) (2005) • Virginia Hamilton: Speeches, Essays, and Conversations (Edited by Arnold Adoff and Kacy Cook, 2010)

Virginia Hamilton is recorded as having received Hans Christian Andersen Award, MacArthur Fellows Program and Newbery Medal.