To encourage other authors to write historical fiction, he established the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 1984-and he won this award two years later. He went on to publish more than two dozen books for young readers, almost all of them historical fiction. Heavily inspired by O’Dell’s childhood adventures, it won the Newbery Medal. Island of the Blue Dolphins, published in 1960, was his first book for children. He served in both World War I and World War II, becoming a full-time writer after World War II. During this time, his name was accidentally printed in a book as Scott O’Dell rather than O’Dell Gabriel Scott-and he liked it so much that he ultimately legally changed his name. He published his first book, a nonfiction work, when he was 25 and published nonfiction and novels for adults for decades. When he started college, though, O’Dell was shocked to discover that he was no longer the brightest student in his class, which he suggests is why he attended four different colleges. In addition to spending a lot of time in the natural landscape-Los Angeles was still considered a frontier town when O’Dell was born-O’Dell also excelled in school. Born O’Dell Gabriel Scott in Los Angeles, O’Dell grew up moving around California a lot.
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