Master storyteller, Walt Wangerin, Jr., has been captivating both reading and listening audiences for two decades.
Pastor Wangerin is the author of more than 20 deeply spiritual and widely acclaimed books for children and adults. They include fiction, non-fiction and devotional material. He is writer-in-residence at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.
Many have also discovered that Pastor Wangerin's story telling gift transcends the printed page. He belongs in that tradition of oral storytellers who have captured the imaginations of people of all ages, through all the ages. His stories, reflections, meditations and life experiences find God in common things and proclaim Christ in our lives. Since 1994 Pastor Wangerin has been joining story and Gospel as the Lutheran Vespers speaker, receiving acclaim from thousands of listeners.
Biographical Material
Born February 13, 1944, in Portland, OR
Reared, the eldest of 7 children, in various locations:
Shelton, WA
Chicago, IL
Grand Forks, ND
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Married, father of four children
Education
Christ Seminary-Seminex, St. Louis, MO; M.Div. 1976
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO
Miami University, Oxford, OH; M.A. in English Literature, 1968 (All course work and requirements for Ph.D. completed except the dissertation)
Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, IN; B.A. 1966
Concordia Junior College, Milwaukee, WI; A.A. 1964
Present Professional Activities
Professor and occupant of Emil & Elfriede Jochum Chair, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN (1991-present)
Speaker, Lutheran Vespers (1994-present)
Frequent lecturer at universities and professional conferences
Past Professional Activities
Was the regular columnist for The Lutheran, the official magazine of the ELCA, from 1988-2000.
Book Awards
New York Times' Best Children's Book of the Year, The Book of the Dun Cow (1978)
The American Book Award, The Book of the Dun Cow (1980)
Campus Life's Editor's Choice, The Book of Sorrows (1985)
Gold Medallion Book Award, Ragman and Other Cries of Faith (1985)
Gold Medallion Book Award, Potter (1986)
CSIA C.S. Lewis Award, Potter (1986)
Association of Logos Bookstores Book Award for Best Fiction, The Book of Sorrows (1986)
Virtue Magazine Book of the Year, As For Me and My House (1987)
Gold Medallion Book Award, As For Me and My House (1988)
Gold Medallion Book Award, Reliving the Passion (1993)
Gold Medallion Book Award, The Book of God (1996)
Association of Logos Bookstores Book Award for Best Book, The Book of God (1996)
Publications
NOVELS:
The Book of Sorrows, Harper & Row, 1985
The Book of the Dun Cow, Harper & Row, 1978
The Crying for a Vision, Simon & Schuster, 1994
The Book of God: The Bible as Novel, Zondervan, Lion UK and Zondervan, 1996
Paul: A Novel, Lion UK and Zondervan, 200 (Gold Medallion Book Award, 2001
CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
Elisabeth and the Water-Troll, Harper Collins Children's Books, 1991
In the Beginning There Was No Sky, Thomas Nelson, 1986
Potter, Augsburg-Fortress Publishers, 1994 (previously, David C. Cook, 1985)
Thistle, Augsburg-Fortress Publishers, 1995 (previously Harper & Row, 1983)
My First Book About Jesus, Checkerboard Press, 1983
Six Arch Books, Concordia Publishing House, 1972-1976
Probity Jones and the Fear Not Angel, Augsburg, 1996
In The Beginning There Was No Sky, Augsburg-Fortress, 1997
The Book of God for Children, Zondervan, 1996 (previously The Bible For Children, Checkerboard Press, 1981)
The Bedtime Rhyme, Augsburg Fortress, 1998
Mary's First Christmas, Zondervan, 1998
Angels and All Children, Augsburg Fortress, August, 2002
Peter's First Easter, Zondervan, 2000
COLLECTIONS OF SHORT STORIES & ESSAYS:
Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?, Zondervan, 1993
The Manger is Empty, Harper & Row, 1989
Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace, Harper & Row, 1988
Ragman and Other Cries of Faith, Harper & Row, 1984
This Earthly Pilgrimage, Zondervan, Spring 2003
PRACTICAL THEOLOGY:
Mourning into Dancing, Zondervan, 1992
As For Me and My House: Crafting a Marriage to Last, Thomas Nelson, 1987
The Orphean Passages, subtitled: The Drama of Faith, Harper & Row, 1986
Whole Prayer, Zondervan, 1998
DEVOTIONAL:
Measuring the Days, edited by Gail McGrew Eifrig, Harper San Francisco, 1993
Reliving the Passion, Zondervan, 1992
POETRY:
A Miniature Cathedral and Other Poems, Harper & Row, 1987
With Paul Manz-- Una Sancta: A Mass in Thanksgiving for the Unity of the Body of Christ; debuted and toured with the Seminex chorus in 1986 and 1987
PERIODICALS:
Book Reviews for The Washington Post Book World
Book Reviews for The New York Times
Articles in numerous periodicals
