Avi (1937 – )

An American author of more than 75 books for children and young people. Wortis was born in Brooklyn in 1937. When he was a year-old his twin sister gave him the nickname 'Avi,' which he's published under since his first book Things That Sometimes Happen (1970).

In 1991 he received a Newbery Honor Award for his historical novel The Truth Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and in 1993 he was awarded a Newbery Honor Award for Nothing but the Truth, a 'documentary novel,' that illustrates the subjectivity of the truth. He was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2003 for his 50th book - Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Avi has written books in multiple genres, including historical fiction, fantasies, graphic novels, comedies, mysteries, ghost stories, adventure tales, realistic fiction, and picture books