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In 1940, an editor told him, “Don’t figure on making any money writing children’s books.” Walter Farley disagreed. He wrote The Black Stallion (Random House) as a high school student in Brooklyn, New York. The book was published when he was 26, while he attended Columbia University.
Born on June 26th in Syracuse, New York, Walter Farley loved horses and hung around the race track. He wrote that first book out of a longing to own a horse, a tough dream to realize for a boy in New York City. Farley wrote and published more than 30 books about horses, many of which are still in print.
Francis Ford Coppola made two movies out of the books, The Black Stallion and The Black Stallion Returns.
Farley was very active in children’s reading programs, making frequent appearances at schools, libraries, and book fairs. A Literary Landmark in his honor can be visited in Venice, Florida, where his family spent their winters. Walter and Rosemary Farley had four children; today, son Steven’s series of Young Stallion books is published by Random House.
Mr. Farley died in 1989.