author
William Bowen
1877–1937
A lawyer by profession and a storyteller at heart, he wrote imaginative children's fantasy in the 1920s. He is best remembered for The Old Tobacco Shop, an early Newbery runner-up that helped secure his place in American children's literature.
3 Audiobooks
The Old Tobacco Shop A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure
by William Bowen
Solario the Tailor: His Tales of the Magic Doublet
by William Bowen
Merrimeg
by William Bowen
About the author
Born in Baltimore in 1877, William Alvin Bowen trained as a lawyer and earned his law degree from the University of Maryland. He later built a legal career that took him west to Los Angeles, while also writing books for young readers.
Bowen published several children's books in the 1920s, including The Enchanted Forest and The Old Tobacco Shop. His best-known work, The Old Tobacco Shop, was named a runner-up for the inaugural Newbery Medal in 1922, a sign of how warmly his fantasy writing was received.
He died in California in 1937. Though not a widely known name today, his work still stands out for its gentle sense of wonder and adventure.