The Light in the Forest Author:Conrad Richter Conrad Richter was born in Pennsylvania, the son, grandson, nephew, and great-nephew of clergymen. He was intended for the ministry, but at thirteen he declined a scholarship and left preparatory school from high school, from which he was graduated at fifteen. After graduation he went to work. His family on his mother's side was identified wit... more »h the early American scene, and from boyhood on he was saturated with tales and the color of Eastern pioneer days. In 1928, he and his small family moved to New Mexico, where his heart and mind were soon captured by the Southwest. From this time on he devoted himself to fiction. The Sea of Grass and The Trees were awarded the gold medal of the Societies of Libraries of New York University in 1941. The Town received the Pulitizer Prize in 1951,and The Waters of Kronos won the 1960 National Book Award for fiction. His other novels include The Fields (1940), The Lady (1957), The Grandfathers (1964), and A Country of Strangers (1966) which is a companion novel to The Light in the Forest.« less