Coretta Scott McCarthy

Writer whose published works contribute to contemporary literature. The name evokes Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), civil rights leader, author, and wife of Martin Luther King Jr., whose memoir My Life, My Love, My Legacy (2017) is a significant document of the American civil rights movement. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards, established in 1970, honour outstanding African American authors and illustrators of children's and young adult literature.

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PeriodContemporary

Nationality

1. Biography

A short life of the author

Coretta Scott McCarthy is a writer whose published works appear in contemporary literature.

The name resonates with Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), the civil rights activist, author, and wife of Martin Luther King Jr. Coretta Scott King was a leader in her own right — an advocate for racial equality, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and nonviolence who continued her husband’s legacy for nearly four decades after his assassination. Her memoir, My Life, My Love, My Legacy (2017, Henry Holt), co-authored with Barbara Reynolds, is an important primary source for civil rights history.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards, administered by the American Library Association since 1970, honour outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults.

Collecting Coretta Scott King

For collectors, Coretta Scott King’s signed copies and first editions, as well as Coretta Scott King Award–winning titles, represent the primary area of collecting interest associated with this name.

King’s autograph material is scarce and valuable, and the Award-winning books constitute a distinguished canon of African American children’s and young adult literature.