35 Facts About Zona Gale

Zona Gale, known by her married name, Zona Gale Breese, was an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright.

Zona Gale became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1921.

Zona Gale's books, based on her hometown, were noted for their charm and intimate realism, capturing the underlying emotions and motivations of her characters.

Zona Gale became a single parent after adopting a girl.

Zona Gale's parents died in 1923 and 1929, after which she became interested in mysticism, leading to a shift in her writing style, much to the dismay of critics who had enjoyed her earlier work.

Zona Gale remained unmarried until her fifties, when she married a childhood friend who was a widower.

Zona Gale supported various political and social causes, including women's rights, pacifism, and education.

Zona Gale was very close to her parents, who were the inspiration for the "charming elderly couple" in her book The Loves of Pelleas and Etare.

Zona Gale began writing and illustrating stories at the age of 7.

Zona Gale submitted a short story, "Both", to the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin when she was sixteen, and was paid $3 for the story.

Zona Gale attended Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin before she entered the University of Wisconsin, where she received a Bachelor of Literature or Library Science degree in 1895.

Zona Gale received a master's degree in Library Science in 1899 and another master's degree in 1901.

Zona Gale received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in 1929.

Zona Gale got the job by showing up at the city editor's desk each day.

Zona Gale went to New York City in 1901 and applied to get on every paper in the city.

Zona Gale returned to her hometown in 1903 and saw it in a new light that changed her direction as a writer.

Zona Gale published Romance Island, her first novel, in 1906, and began the popular "Friendship Village" series of stories which were thought to be based upon Portage, although Gale stated that Friendship Village was not based upon any one town, but typical of a small town.

Zona Gale won first prize, worth $2,000, in 1910 for "The Ancient Dawn" in the short fiction contest by the Delineator.

Zona Gale's novel, appreciated for its realism, was compared to the works of Sinclair Lewis and Theodore Dreiser.

Zona Gale adapted it as a play, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1921.

Zona Gale wrote a book about a friend, Frank Augustus Miller, the founder of the Mission Inn Hotel, after his death in 1935.

Zona Gale was a suffragist, an activist, and a liberal Democrat, who supported the La Follettes, including Robert Sr.

Zona Gale spoke for them at events and on the radio when they were campaigning for office.

Zona Gale was an active member of the National Woman's Party, and she lobbied extensively for the 1921 Wisconsin Equal Rights Law.

Zona Gale became a pacifist during World War I Zona Gale was a director of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Zona Gale criticized the inclusion of military training in college curriculums.

Zona Gale was on the executive committee of the American Union Against Militarism and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Women's Peace Society.

Zona Gale was against racial prejudice and promoted improved means of communication among races.

Zona Gale later became a regent of the university and became embroiled in the ouster of the president, Dr Glenn Frank.

Zona Gale became a step mother to William's daughter, Juliette Blackman Breese, who married Cecil Bennett in 1930.

Zona Gale became interested in philosophy after the death of her parents.

Zona Gale enjoyed travel to California, New York, Japan and other places.

Zona Gale came to Chicago in mid-December 1938 for treatment of an ailment and contracted pneumonia about December 20.

Zona Gale was buried at Silver Lake Cemetery in Portage.

Zona Gale donated two houses, one of which was the Zona Gale house that went to the Women's Civic League.