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Eric E. Wiggin (1939–) Biography

Personal, Career, Honors Awards, Writings, Work in Progress, Sidelights



Born 1939, in Albion, ME; Education: New Brunswick Bible Institute (Canada), diploma, 1961; Fort Wayne Bible College, B.Re. 1963; St. Francis College (IN), M.S. (education), 1972; also attended University of Maine. Politics: Republican. Religion: Baptist. Hobbies and other interests: Small farming, gardening, poultry raising.



Career

Minister, educator, and writer. Palermo Baptist Churches, Palermo, ME, pastor, 1965–68; English teacher at schools in Waterville, ME, 1966–68, and Fort Wayne, IN, 1968–73; Faith Christian School, Fruitport, MI, English teacher and librarian, 1973–74; Piedmont Bible College, Winston-Salem, NC, instructor in English, 1974–78; Glen Cove Bible College, Rockport, ME, instructor in English, 1978–79; full-time writer, 1979–. Substitute teacher; adult Sunday school teacher. Member, Bethel Baptist Church.

Honors Awards

Honorable mention, Maine Press Association, 1981, for investigative reporting.

Writings

"REBECCA" SERIES; BASED ON BOOKS BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: The Child, Wolgemuth & Hyatt (Brentwood, TN), 1989, published as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Bethel, 1994.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: The Girl, illustrated by Joe Boddy, Wolgemuth & Hyatt (Brentwood, TN), 1990, published as Rebecca of the Brick House, Bethel, 1994.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: The Woman, illustrated by Joe Boddy, Wolgemuth & Hyatt (Brentwood, TN), 1991, published as Rebecca Returns to Sunnybrook, Bethel, 1994.

"MAGGIE'S WORLD" NOVEL SERIES

Maggie: Life at the Elms, Harvest House (Eugene, OR), 1993.

Maggie's Homecoming, Harvest House (Eugene, OR), 1994.

Maggie's Secret Longing, Harvest House (Eugene, OR), 1995.

"HANNAH'S ISLAND" NOVEL SERIES; FOR YOUNG READERS

A Hound for Hannah, Emerald Books, 1995.

The Mystery of the Sunken Steamboat, Emerald Books, 1995.

The Mysterious Stranger, Emerald Books, 1995.

The Secret of the Old Well, Emerald Books, 1996.

The Lesson of the Ancient Bones, Emerald Books, 1996.

The Texas Rodeo Showdown, Emerald Books, 1998.

OTHER

The Hills of God, Harvest House (Eugene, OR), 1993.

The Heart of a Grandparent: Investing Yourself in Your Grandchildren's Future, Harold Shaw (Wheaton, IL), 1993.

Blood Moon Rising, Broadman & Holman (Nashville, TN), 2000.

The Gift of Grandparenting: Building Meaningful Relationships with Your Grandchildren, Tyndale House Publishers (Wheaton, IL), 2001.

Freelance reporter for Bangor Daily News, Confident Living, Maine Paper, Maine Sunday Telegram, Moody Monthly, and Rockland Courier-Gazette, 1979–84. Managing editor, Maine Civic League Record, 1982–84.

Work in Progress

Several novels for adults and children.

Sidelights

A former minister and teacher, Eric E. Wiggin is a distant cousin to the husband of Kate Douglas Wiggin, the author of the childhood classic Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, which was first published in 1903. "Most New England Wiggins are descended from Captain Thomas Wiggin, who came to New Hampshire in 1623," Wiggin once explained to SATA. Although he began writing for children in the 1970s, Wiggin has his first work, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: The Child, published in 1989. He has gone on to publish two other novels featuring the characters from the "Rebecca" novels, as well as several works of Christian fiction and the nonfiction title The Gift of Grandparenting: Building Meaningful Relationships with Your Grandchildren. Also featuring Christian-based themes, Wiggin's "Hannah's Island" novel series for young readers features the adventures of Hannah and Walt Parmenter, two home-schooled siblings who frequently find themselves in more trouble than they bargain for.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

School Library Journal, May, 1998, Megan McGuire, review of The Secret of the Old Well, p. 149.

ONLINE

Evangel Publishing House Web site, http://www.evangelpublishing.com/ (December 19, 2005).

Additional topics

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