Herman Parish

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Herman S. Parish III (1953–February 10, 2024) was an American novelist best known for continuing the Amelia Bedelia children’s books, a series created by his aunt Peggy Parish. Born in Waco, Texas, he studied at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and served four years in the U.S. Navy. After 13 years as an advertising copywriter, he began writing Amelia Bedelia in 1995, following his aunt’s death in 1988, and continued the series through 2022. Parish had three children; his son Stan later became a writer and was in elementary school when he started helping with the series. He aimed to keep Amelia Bedelia fresh by having her have face-to-face misunderstandings rather than copying his aunt’s exact formula. Parish worked with the original editor Susan Hirschman and illustrator Lynn Sweat on the new titles. In May 2014, he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and died on February 10, 2024. His book Amelia Bedelia Cleans Up was posthumously dedicated to two of his physicians. The books were published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.