Emily Cheney Neville (1919-1997), award- winning author, social activist and Manchester native, was the youngest of seven children, began writing fiction in 1961 when the youngest of her five children entered school.
In 1963 she received the American Library Association's Newbery Medal for her first novel, "It's Like This, Cat," which also won the Jane Addams Award for significant children's books.
The following year, Mrs. Neville's second novel, "Berries Goodman," was selected by the American Library Association as a notable children's book.
Her autobiography, "Traveler from a Small Kingdom," was published in 1968 and tells of her childhood in Manchester and her career. Other novels include "Garden of Broken Glass" and "The China Year," which told of her visit to China in 1984.
After graduating from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania in 1940, Mrs. Neville became the New York Daily News' first copy girl. The next year she became a columnist for the New York Daily Mirror and later married the paper's managing editor, Glenn T. Neville.
Mrs. Neville obtained her law degree in 1977 and practiced law in Keene Valley until her death. In 1991, she was appointed to the Fourth Judicial District Committee on Women in the Courts.
She was involved with many civic and legal organizations, including the Samaritan Counseling Center, the Citizens Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice Planning Corp. and Prisoners Legal Services.
