Gloria Skurzynski (1930-) is an accomplished children's book author with over 60 books to her name. An author of fiction and non-fiction, Skurzynski has used her steel town background and interests in history, technology, folk tales, and science to entertain young readers since she began writing professionally in 1979. The Gloria Skurzynski Papers specifically chronicle her research, interviews, and study of local history in preparation for her book, Good-bye, Billy Radish, published in 1992.
Language
English
.
Author
Alison Sennett.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Arrangement
The papers are arranged into the following series:
Series I. Research
Series II. Manuscripts
Series III. Images, Photographs, and Slides
The folders are arranged alphabetically according to title or based on subject matter of the photographs, illustrations, or postcards.
Scope and Content Notes
The Gloria Skurzynski Papers document the research, writing, and publication of her children's book Good-bye, Billy Radish. These papers include: research and literature on steel production, local news and research from Duquesne, Pa., and lines of text included in the book. Various manuscripts, a master set first printing, and interview transcripts are also included among Skurzynski's papers. The collection also contains photographic images included inGood-bye, Billy Radish, 35mm slides, and other varied images that may have been used for research.
Biography
Gloria Joan Skurzynski (née Gloria Joan Flister) was born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, in 1930. Living during the Great Depression, her father, Aylmer Kearney Flister, provided the family with steady income by working at a steel mill while her mother, Serena (Decker) Flister, was employed as a telegraph operator. In 1948, Gloria attended Carlow University, then called Mount Mercy College. Finding the educational atmosphere not to her liking, she left school and worked as a statistical clerk at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1950 to 1952. While working at U.S. Steel, Gloria married her husband Edward Joseph Skurzynski, an aerospace engineer, in 1951. The couple would go on to have five children: Serena, Rose, Janine, Joan, and Alane and eventually make a move to Salt Lake City, Utah.
While raising a family, Skurzynski began a correspondence with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Phyllis McGinley in 1965. As their friendship grew, McGinley encouraged Skurzynski to try her hand at writing professionally and the author's first publication was published in Teen Magazine after 58 rejections from various other publications. As her children got older, Skurzynski turned her focus on writing children's novels and her first one,What Happened in Hamelin?, was published in 1979. Her books,The Tempering (1983) andGood-bye, Billy Radish (1992), draw on her steel town past and the historical significance of the steel industry in Western Pennsylvania. The author incorporates her own father's history and that of Duquesne, Pennsylvania to create the fictional town of Canaan.
Skurzynski's interests do not just revolve around history, but also include the landscape of the American West as seen in herMountain West Adventure Series; and into the workings of modern technology as read in her series,Your High Tech World. Gloria Skurzynski's non-fiction titles include:Bionic Parts for People: The Real Story of Artificial Organs and Replacement Parts (1978) andAre We Alone?: Scientists Search for Life in Space (2004). In recent years, the author has collaborated with her daughter, author Alane Ferguson, on a series of novels titled, Mysteries in Our National Parks for the National Geographic Society. Her writing has earned her numerous awards including: two Golden Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, a Science Writing Award from the American Institute of Physics, and a Golden Kite Award for fiction. Skurzynski and her husband Edward currently reside in Boise, Idaho.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Gloria Skurzynski in November 2013.
Previous Citation
Gloria Skurzynski Papers, 1986-1994, SC.2013.02, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Gloria Skurzynski Papers, 1986-1994, SC.2013.02, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Alison Sennett in 2013 under the direction of Jennifer Needham, Archivist.
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook