WHO’S YOUR WRITER?

Click on the Indy 500 flags to learn about

Hoosier writers.

George AdeGene Stratton Porter

Jim Davis

James Whitcomb Riley Booth Tarkington

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.Ernie Pyle

Theodore Dreiser Lewis Wallace

Johnny Gruelle

Jessamyn West

WakefieldDan

Lewis Wallace

Lewis Wallace was born on April 10, 1827, in Brookville, Indiana. He was a commander in the U.S. Army, elected into the Indiana state Senate, and served as Ambassador to Turkey. His most famous books were Ben Hur and A Tale of the Christ. Wallace died on February 15, 1905, in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Ernie Pyle

Ernie Pyle was born near Dana, Indiana, in 1900. Pyle served three months in the Navy when he was eighteen. He wrote briefly for local newspapers in Indiana. Pyle became the USA’s first aviation columnist and later was managing editor of the Washington Daily Show before taking on the national column. In 1945 he was killed by a Japanese sniper while serving as a war correspondent.

James Whitcomb Riley

• James Whitcomb Riley was born in 1849 in Indiana. In 1874 he began working as an associate editor at The Greenfield Newspaper. A year later he published his first poem in Hearth and Home magazine. Some books that Riley wrote were The Old Swimmin'-Hole, Riley Child-Rhymes, Out to Old Aunt Mary's, and An Old Sweetheart. Riley died in 1916 .

Theodore Dreiser

Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on December 28, 1845. Dreiser was a finalist for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930. He won the Award of Merit and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Some of the books he wrote included: Sister Carrie, Jennie Gerhardt, and An American Tragedy. He died on December 28, 1945, the same day as his birthday.

George Ade

• George Ade was born in 1866 in Kentland, Indiana. In his career, Ade wrote humorist fiction. His writings pertained to serious issues such as the environment. One of Ade’s best known books is The Permanent Ade:the Living Writings of George Ade. Ade died at age 78 in 1944.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

• Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. novelist, essayist and dramatist, was born in 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The science-fiction novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is considered his masterpiece. He earned awards for eight of his 15 books. He died at the age of 81 in March 2007.

Gene Stratton Porter

Gene Stratton Porter was born on a farm in Wabash, Indiana in 1863. Porter was the daughter of Mark and Mary Stratton. She was the youngest of 12 children. Her five greatest books were: The Song of The Cardinal, Freckles, What I Have Done with Birds, At The Foot of The Rainbow, and A Girl of the Limberlost. Porter died in 1924.

Booth Tarkington

• Booth Tarkington was born in 1869 in

Indianapolis, Indiana. He wrote novels about life in the Midwest like The Gentleman of Indiana. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for Alice Adams and The Magnificent Andersons. He died in 1946.

Johnny Gruelle

Johnny Gruelle was born in 1880 in Arcola, Illinois. When he was young his family moved to Lockerbie Street of Indianapolis. Most people know Johnny Gruelle through the rag doll Raggedy Ann and her brother Raggedy Andy. Gruelle was hired by the Indianapolis Star to write political cartoons. Johnny Gruelle died in 1939.

Jim Davis

Jim Davis was born in 1945 on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana. As a child, Jim liked to doodle. He went to Fairmount High School. He was cast in four plays while at Fairmount. He later studied art at Ball State University. He created one of the most well known cartoon characters, Garfield.

Mary Jessamyn West

• Many books and novels have been written by Mary Jessamyn West. West was born July 18, 1902, and she grew up in Jennings County, Indiana. The Witch Diggers, Little Men, South of the Angels, and The Massacre of Fall Creek, were written by this amazing author. She died in 1984.

Dan Wakefield

• Dan Wakefield was born on May 21, 1932, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was nominated for the National Book Award in 1970 for Going All the Way. His short stories were included in Best American Stories of 1966 and American Literary Anthology 2. He wrote many articles, essays and reviews that appeared in magazines.