Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American writer and journalist, known for his deeply pessimistic novels, many of which were written for young adults. Recurring themes include abuse, mental illness, violence, revenge, betrayal, and conspiracy. In most of his novels, the protagonists do not win.^[1]

Robert Edmund Cormier
Born	(1925-01-17)January 17, 1925 Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	November 2, 2000(2000-11-02) (aged 75) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Period	1962–2000
Genre	Realistyoung adult (YA) novels,crime fiction,thrillers
Notable awards	Margaret A. Edwards Award 1991 Phoenix Award 1997
Spouse	Constance Senay
Children	4

Cormier's more popular works includeI Am the Cheese,After the First Death,We All Fall Down, andThe Chocolate War, all of which have won awards.The Chocolate War has beenchallenged in multiple libraries.^[2]

Robert Cormier was born in 1925 in Leominster, Massachusetts in the French-Canadian section of the town called French Hill.^[3] He was the second of eight children.^[3] His family moved frequently to afford rent, but never left his hometown. Even when he was much older and owned a summer home, it was only 19 mi (31 km) away from Leominster.^[4] In a few of his books, Cormier's hometown of Leominster became the fictional town of Monument, and its village of French Hill became Frenchtown. The nearby city of Fitchburg, Massachusetts became Wickburg.^[5]

Cormier attended St. Cecilia's Parochial School, a private Catholic school. He began writing when he was in the first grade and was praised at school for his poetry. He first realized his aspiration to become a writer in 7th grade, when he was encouraged by a nun to write a poem. He attendedLeominster High School, graduating as the president of his class.

As a freshman at Fitchburg State College, Cormier had his first short story published when a college professor, Florence Conlon, without his knowledge, sent one of his stories to a national Catholic magazineThe Sign for $75.^[3]

Cormier began his professional writing career scripting radio commercials. He eventually became an award-winning journalist. Even though he became widely known, he never stopped writing for his local newspaper, theFitchburg Sentinel.^[6]

Cormier became a full-time writer after the success of his first adult novel for teenagers,Now and at the Hour (1960);^[3] others followed, such asThe Chocolate War andAfter the First Death. He was concerned with the problems facing young people in modern society, which was reflected in his novels.^[5][7] He soon established a reputation as a brilliant and uncompromising writer. His awards include theMargaret A. Edwards Award of the Young Adult Services Division of theAmerican Library Association, a lifetime award that recognizes a particular body of work that provides young adults with a window through which they can view the world, and which will help them to grow and understand themselves and their role in society.^[3] Cormier won the annual award in 1991, citingThe Chocolate War;I Am the Cheese; andAfter the First Death.^[8]

The Chocolate War has been challenged in various libraries and schools for its language and its depictions of sexual activity,secret societies, and anarchic students.^[7] Between 1990 and 2000 it was the fourth most frequently challenged book in the US, according to theAmerican Library Association.^[2]

In 1991,The American Library Association bestowed itsMargaret Edwards Award toI Am the Cheese, citing it as one of three 1974 to 1979 books "taken to heart by young adults over a period of years.” The ALA said that "Cormier's brilliantly crafted and troubling novels have achieved the status of classics in young adult literature."^[8]

I Am the Cheese won the 1997Phoenix Award from theChildren's Literature Association. Named for themythical bird, the Phoenix Award recognizes the best English language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published twenty years earlier.^[9]

Cormier died on November 2, 2000, due to complications from a blood clot.^[10]

Non-Fiction

• I Have Words to Spend [Collected Newspaper Articles] (1991)

Fiction

Novels except as stated

• Now and at the Hour (1960)
• A Little Raw on Monday Mornings (1963)
• Take Me Where the Good Times Are (1965)
• The Chocolate War (1974)
• I Am the Cheese (1977)
• After the First Death (1979)
• 8 Plus 1 (1980), short story collection
• The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1983)
• Beyond The Chocolate War (1985)
• Fade (1988)
• Other Bells for Us to Ring (1990); UK title,Darcy (1991)
• We All Fall Down (1991)
• Tunes for Bears to Dance To (1992)
• In the Middle of the Night (1995)
• Tenderness (1997)
• Heroes (1998)
• Frenchtown Summer (1999)
• The Rag and Bone Shop (2001)

• I Am the Cheese (1983), in which Cormier appears as "Mr. Hertz"
• The Chocolate War (1988)
• Lapse of Memory (1991), an adaptation ofI Am the Cheese
• The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1999)
• Tenderness (2009)
• The Assignment (2012), a student feature-film adaptation ofThe Chocolate War

• Robert Cormier at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Robert Cormier atRandom House Authors
• Robert Cormier atBarnes & Noble Meet the Writers
• Robert Cormier atLibrary of Congress Authorities — with 24 catalog records