Gary Paulsen, author of young adult adventure Hatchet, dies at age 82

Gary Paulsen, the American author of young adult fiction who taught millions of children wilderness skills through novels such as Hatchet, Dogsong and The Winter Room, has died at the age of 82. His publisher said on Thursday his death was “sudden” but did not specify a cause.

Paulsen wrote more than 200 books during his lifetime, and was renowned for introducing generations of young readers to survivalist literature. According to his publisher, there are 35m copies of his books in print and he has won three Newbery Honors. Hatchet, his tale of a 13-year-old boy left to fend for himself in the woods, became a staple of required reading lists in US schools following its publication in 1986.

Born in 1939 in Minnesota, Paulsen survived a difficult childhood – as recounted in his memoir Gone to the Woods, published earlier this year, his mother was an alcoholic while his father was off fighting in the second world war. He recalled significant time as a child in the Minnesota woods, where he picked up such skills as fishing, cooking over a campfire and camping, which would later become staples for his young characters.

If not outside, Paulsen was in the library, where a librarian first gave him a notebook and a pencil to write down his thoughts. “None of this would have happened, except for that,” Paulsen wrote, according to NPR.

During his life, Paulsen also worked as a farmhand, engineer, construction worker, sailor, truck driver, satellite technician and even magazine proofreader in Hollywood. He ran the Iditarod dogsled race twice, and spent two years sailing around the world.

“The most, most important thing is to read,” Paulsen said, according to his publishing company. “Read all the time; read when they tell you not to read, what they tell you not to read, read with a flashlight under the covers, read on the bus, standing on a corner, waiting for a friend, in the dentist’s waiting room. Read every minute you can.”

He is survived by his wife and son. His final novel, Northwind, will be published in January 2022.