Joseph Bruchac

Joseph Bruchac was raised by his maternal grandparents in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. Though Bruchac also has English and Slovak ancestry, he says that his northeastern American Indian heritage has nourished him the most. Along with his younger sister, Margaret, and his two adult sons, James and Jesse, Bruchac is heavily involved in projects for preserving Abenaki language and culture, including a musical group called the Dawnland Singers. Bruchac has written more than 100 books for both adults and children. Some of these include Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award), Sacajawea (a historical novel), collections of traditional Native American stories, and poetry. He has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, as well as the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for his contributions to children’s multicultural literature. He lives in Greenfield Center, New York.