Major Works
- Glory Be (2012)
- The Way to Stay in Destiny (2015)
Biography of Augusta Scattergood
Mary Augusta Scattergood was born in Cleveland, Mississippi. She went to Mississippi University for Women but graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an English major. She met her husband, Jay Scattergood, at UNC. Because she always wanted to be a librarian, she went to Simmons College School of Library Science in Boston after college. She has lived in many states: Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, California, and Florida. She currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the winter and Madison, New Jersey, during the summers.
According to her web site, “Former librarian and children’s book reviewer Augusta Scattergood has devoted her life and career to getting books into the hands of young readers. Her reviews and articles have appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Delta Magazine, the St. Petersburg Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Highlights, Mississippi Magazine, and other publications.” She now writes full-time.
Her first novel (a book intended for middle-grade students) is entitled Glory Be. It is the story of a young girl named Gloriana June Hemphill. The setting is Hanging Moss, Mississippi, during in June of 1964. Scattergood lived in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, and although she didn’t experience everything she writes about in her book, it inspired her to write Glory Be.
Scholastic Press published another novel by Scattergood called The Way to Stay in Destiny in 2015. The protagonist Theo travels by bus to live with his Uncle Raymond, who is a Vietnam War veteran who doesn’t really want a long-lost nephew. A piano and baseball help Theo adjust to his new life.
Scattergood’s awards and recognition include Amazon’s Top Twenty Middle Grade Books of 2012, Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book, SCBWI Crystal Kite Award- Southeast Region, 2013 Mississippi Author Award, Children’s Choice Awards list: Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont.
She maintains a blog site to which she posts regularly.
Related Websites
- ‘Glory Be’ A Tale Of The South For Young Adults (NPR audio) Scattergood reads beginning of Glory Be
- Children’s book author Scattergood’s website
- Blogspot for Scattergood