Edward Packard (writer)

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Edward Packard
Born (1931-02-16) February 16, 1931 (age 92)
Huntington, New York, US
OccupationAuthor, writer, lawyer
NationalityAmerican
GenreAdventure, children's literature, poetry, essays

Edward Packard (born February 16, 1931) is an American author, creator of the Choose Your Own Adventure book concept and author of more than 50 books in the series,[1][2] as well as many other children’s books. He is also a lawyer, essayist, and poet. Born in Huntington, New York, he is a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School.[3]

Packard came up with the original idea of writing second-person fiction, in which the reader makes choices that affects how the story unfolds, while thinking up bedtime stories for his children, who each clamored for a different ending to his stories. He published the first three books in this genre, originally called "The Adventures of You," after which Bantam Books offered him and his first publisher a contract for a series rebranded and made famous as the Choose Your Own Adventure series of children's books.[4][5]

He is the grandfather of actor David Corenswet.

Biography

Early career

Packard wrote the first known book of this type, Sugarcane Island, in 1969, and arranged for it to be published in 1976 by Vermont Crossroads Press, owned by Constance Cappel and Raymond A. Montgomery, Jr. Packard explains in the foreword to the book that he developed what he originally called "the adventures of you" fiction format while trying to think up interesting bedtime stories for his three children (Caroline, Andrea, and Wells). In Sugarcane Island, the shipwrecked reader travels around the titular island avoiding dangers at every turn. Many of the possible endings feature an unfortunate demise, although escape from the island is possible if the correct choices are made.[6]

Choose Your Own Adventure

The Adventures of You on Sugarcane Island was the exact prototype for books in Bantam's classic Choose Your Own Adventure series. In 1969, and 1970, the William Morris Agency submitted the book on Packard's behalf to several major publishers, all of whom rejected it. In 1976 Packard was able to get the book published by Vermont Crossroads Press. In its review of the book, Publishers Weekly called it "an original idea, well carried out."

In 1977–1978, Lippincott published Packard's next two books in the same format, Deadwood City and The Third Planet from Altair. Their covers alerted readers to their unusual nature with the rubrics "Choose Your Own Adventure in the Wild West" and "Choose Your Own Adventure in Outer Space."

Seeing potential in Packard's idea of an "interactive book", Bantam Books launched a series called Choose Your Own Adventure in 1979. This contact with Bantam Books was made by Constance Cappel on a flight to the Atlanta ABA Conference with Bantam’s then head of marketing, Jack Romano. (Vermont Crossroads Press, having earlier sold the rights to the series to Pocket Books, now had them transferred to Bantam.) Packard wrote the first book in the Bantam series, The Cave of Time, a time-traveling story in which the reader explores a cavern that is a portal to different eras. Both R. A. Montgomery, Packard’s original publisher at Vermont Crossroads Press, and Packard wrote many more books in the series, with Packard contributing well over 60 titles by 1998, when the series ended.[7]

Packard kept the Choose Your Own Adventure series fresh by changing genres with each title. After the time-travel story, he wrote a spy story, a space opera, a western, a mystery, a science fiction story, and a fantasy. In one of his books, Hyperspace, Packard himself appears as a character (a case of “self-insertion”).[8]

Packard was the only CYOA author who included a recurring character in many of his books: a scientist, Dr. Nera Vivaldi, frequently appeared in the role of a friend to the reader. Seemingly ageless, she appears in stories set in many different time periods, including those that take the reader into outer space. In Hyperspace, Dr. Vivaldi breaches the fourth wall by acknowledging that she is a fictional character whom the reader may recognize from having read other CYOA books.[9]

Beginning in 2012, Simon & Schuster released revised and expanded print versions of selected Packard CYOA stories: Through the Black Hole, Return to the Cave of Time and The Forbidden Castle, under the trademark “U-Ventures.”

Packard conceived the idea for three more interactive series, and wrote the prototype books. The series were Space Hawks and Escape (both published by Bantam Books), and Earth Inspectors, published by McGraw Hill. He also wrote a non-fiction book about the size and scale of space and time, titled Imagining the Universe which was published by Berkley in 1994. It was cited by Scientific American as one of the best science books for young readers of the year and by National Public Radio as one of the best science books of the year. His educational math book Big Numbers, published by Millbrook in 2000, was cited by Newsweek as one of the best children's books of the year.[citation needed]

The six books in the Space Hawks series, which focuses on Earth's defense against space aliens, were published in mainland China in 2004 in anticipation of China's first crewed space mission.[10]

Books

Book applications

In 2010, Packard started a new company called U-Ventures, which began releasing Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style applications for iPhone and iPad based on some of Packard's books. The first title, "Return to the Cave of Time" was released in August with more titles planned shortly after.[11]

References

  1. ^ Andres, Tommy, & Tobin, Ariana, “How Choose Your Own Adventure Was Born.” Marketplace (Minnesota Public Radio). April 11 2014.
  2. ^ Rosen, Jake, “A Brief History of Choose Your Own Adventure.” Mental Floss. April 10, 2014.
  3. ^ Simon and Schuster: About the Author. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Tommy Andres, Ariana Tobin (April 11, 2014). "How Choose Your Own Adventure Was Born".
  5. ^ Rosen, Jake, “A Brief History of Choose Your Own Adventure.” “Mental Floss.” April 10, 2014.
  6. ^ "From law books to kids' books". The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. October 15, 1981. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  7. ^ "Meet the author of 'Choose your own adventure' stories". Lakeland Ledger. March 27, 1984.
  8. ^ Hendrix, Grady[1] “Choose Your Own Adventure Books: How the Cave of Time Taught Us to Love Interactive Entertainment.” Slate. February 2011.
  9. ^ Hendrix, Grady [2] “Choose Your Own Adventure Books: How the Cave of Time Taught Us to Love Interactive Entertainment.” Slate. February 2011.
  10. ^ Edward Packard (August 21, 2012). Through the Black Hole. Simon and Schuster. pp. 147–. ISBN 978-1-4424-3426-4.
  11. ^ "'Choose Your Own Adventure' Gets An iMakeover". August 16, 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://justapedia.org/index.php?title=Edward_Packard_(writer)&oldid=1112722451"