Occupation author, farmworker Name Robbie Branscum Nationality American Role Writer | Period 1971-1991 Spouse Dwane Branscum (m. 1949) Children Deborah Branscum | |
Born Robbie Nell Tilley
June 17, 1934
Big Flat, Arkansas ( 1934-06-17 ) Genre children's literature
young adult fiction Notable awards Edgar Award, Friends of American Writers Award, PEN Award Died May 24, 1997, San Pablo, California, United States Books The Murder of Hound Dog Bates, Me and Jim Luke Awards Edgar Award for Best Juvenile | ||
Robbie Nell Tilley Branscum (June 17, 1934 – May 24, 1997) was an American writer of children's books and young adult fiction. Her books were awarded with a Friends of American Writers Award (1977) and an Edgar Award (1983).
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Robbie was born on a farm near Big Flat, Arkansas. Her father died when she was only four years old and she grew up with her poor grandparents on another farm. Branscum dropped out from school after the seventh grade. She continued to read books and write poetry and songs and provided for her livelihood through work at dirt farms. At the age of 15 she married Dwane Branscum. She gave birth to a daughter and divorced at the age of 25.
Her life took a major turn after the newsletter of her church, the Southern Baptist, printed an article she had written. Subsequently she decided to become an author. Her first book was Me and Jim Luke (1971). Branscum published 20 books in 20 years time (not one each year). Several of her books were translated into Danish, Italian, Japanese, and Swedish. Branscum worked with literary agent Barthold Fles. She died from a heart attack in 1997 in her home in San Pablo, California.