Russell Hoban
| Russell Hoban | |
|---|---|
Hoban in London, November 2010
|
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| Born | Russell Conwell Hoban February 4, 1925 Lansdale, Pennsylvania, US |
| Died | December 13, 2011 (aged 86) London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable awards |
Whitbread Prize 1982 |
| Spouse | • Lillian Hoban (1944–1975, divorced); 4 children (Phoebe, Abrom, Esmé, Julia) • Gundula Ahl (1975–2011); 3 children (Jake, Ben, Wieland) |
Whitbread Prize
1974
Russell Conwell Hoban (February 4, 1925 – December 13, 2011) was an American expatriate writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived in London, England, from 1969 until his death.
Hoban was born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, to Jewish immigrants from Ostrog (now in Ukraine). His father, Abram T. Hoban, was the advertising manager of the Yiddish-language Jewish Daily Forward and the director of The Drama Guild of the Labor Institute of the Workmen's Circle of Philadelphia. His father died when Russell was 11, and Russell was raised by his mother, Jeanette Dimmerman. He was named for Russell Conwell. After briefly attending Temple University, he enlisted in the Army at age 18 and served in the Philippines and Italy as a radio operator during World War II, earning a bronze star. During his military service he married Lillian Aberman, who later became a writer and illustrator herself. They had four children before divorcing in 1975.
After leaving military service, Hoban worked as an illustrator, painting several covers for TIME, Sports Illustrated, and The Saturday Evening Post, and as an advertising copywriter—occupations which several of his characters later shared—before he wrote and illustrated his first children's book, What Does It Do and How Does It Work?: Power Shovel, Dump Truck, and Other Heavy Machines, published by Harper in 1959.
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