薇琪·麦蓉

薇琪·麦蓉（英语：Vicki Myron，1947年—）是美国的图书馆员、畅销书作家，担任史班赛公共图书馆馆长超过20年。她最知名的作品是与布赖特·维特合作撰写的《小猫杜威》，该书在出版后于国际上畅销一百万册，描述了她所收养的图书馆猫杜威的生平故事。

早年

薇琪·麦蓉出生于美国爱荷华州的一个小镇史班赛。中学时期，她就读哈特雷高中，毕业后搬至明尼苏达州的曼卡托，并在那里工作；1970年她和威利·麦容成婚，两人共育有一名女儿裘蒂。

薇琪分别先后取得明尼苏达州立大学曼卡托分校的学士学位及恩波利亚州立大学的硕士学位。在学习期间，她由于丈夫的酗酒问题而选择离婚，独自扶养女儿长大。

职业

1982年，已大学毕业的薇琪回到家乡史班赛，开始在史班赛公共图书馆工作，1987年，她被图书馆理事会任命为馆长。

1988年1月的一个寒冷夜晚里，薇琪在还书箱内发现了一只才八个月大的小猫。薇琪决定收留它，并将其命名为杜威·乐读·布克斯（Dewey Readmore Books）。经过图书馆理事会的认可，杜威成为驻馆的图书馆猫，它长大之后热衷于和顾客互动，经媒体广泛报导后全球知名；2006年杜威逝世后，《纽约时报》等250家报纸上都刊登了它的讣告。

杜威逝世一年后，薇琪于图书馆退休，与书刊编辑布赖特·维特一同撰写杜威的传记。2008年《小猫杜威》出版，被翻译成多国语言，全球售出一百万本。新线影业旋即买下了该书的改编权，计划将其拍成电影《杜威》（Dewey），预定由梅丽尔·斯特里普出演主角薇琪·麦蓉；但该电影的制作一再搁置，薇琪也在2012年表示不满意剧本内容。

2010年，薇琪和布雷再次出版了《小猫杜威》的续集《杜威的九生九世》。同年，薇琪又出版了儿童书《Dewey's Christmas at the Library》。

荣誉

2012年薇琪获得了爱荷华州学校图书馆员协会的金翅雀奖。

Vicki Myron (born 1947) is an American author and librarian. Director of the Spencer Public Library for more than 20 years, she is best known for her book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, co-written with Bret Witter. It sold more than one million copies internationally and was on bestseller lists for more than six months. The book is about a cat she found and cared for at the library, and his engaging effects on the townspeople. The library cat's story became internationally known during his life.

The book's great success led to a publishing phenomenon, with Myron and Witter also writing two related children's books, and with publication of audio books. Their sequel, Dewey's Nine Lives, was published in 2010, as was a second children's picture book about the cat. A proposed film adaptation had not been completed; as of May 2012 the script had not been approved and the first option was due to expire in June 2012.

Early life

Vicki Myron was born in Spencer, Iowa and grew up on a farm near Moneta, fifteen miles from the town of Spencer. She attended local schools and graduated from high school in Hartley. She moved to Mankato, Minnesota, married, and had a daughter. She later divorced and earned a bachelor's degree at Minnesota State University, Mankato, then called Mankato State University.

Career

Myron returned to Spencer and started working as assistant director at its public library in 1982. She became the director in 1987 and completed a master's degree through Emporia State University's distance-learning program. She served as director for 25 years. She retired in 2007 and lives in Spencer, as of December 2008, with her cat Page, given to her by a friend who found the cat on a snow-covered road.

In 1988, Myron found an eight-week-old kitten left in the library drop box on a bitterly cold night. She took care of him, naming him Dewey (full name Dewey Readmore Books). The staff made him the library cat. He lived until 2006, making friends with many library patrons and becoming internationally famous after his story was reported in various outlets. He was so popular that he was featured on postcards for sale by Friends of the Library, and raised funds of some US$4,000 by May 2005. His obituary was carried by 250 newspapers, including the New York Times.

Myron retired from the library the next year, and began work on a book about Dewey, with co-author Bret Witter. They received $1.2 million from Grand Central Publishing for the rights to Dewey's life story. The pair also wrote Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, which was published in 2008. The book recounted the story of the cat, which had reached an international audience, and reflected on her own and the town's challenges during this period. It became a great success. It sold more than a million copies internationally, was translated into numerous languages, and was on bestseller lists for six months.

In November 2008, Myron learned that a film company was interested in an adaptation, with Meryl Streep proposed to play her. The first option was due to expire in June 2012; as of May a final script had not been approved. In 2012, Myron said that she had been unhappy with the script and was not sorry that that version would not be filmed.

Myron and Witter published a children's picture book, Dewey: The Library Cat, in 2009, and also a book adaptation for middle-grade readers later that year.

In 2010, Myron and Witter published a sequel, Dewey's Nine Lives, recounting additional stories about Dewey. In addition, she discussed material from letters she received about people and their cats. That same year, she and Witter published a children's picture book, the second about the cat, called Dewey's Christmas at the Library, intended for 3–6-year olds.