Litvin, Martin | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Martin Litvin was born on March 31, 1928 in Galesburg, IL. Litvin grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family of Russian descent, the son of Sylvia Gillis (1904-1937) and Benjamin Charles Litin (1901-1990), an automobile wrecker and owner of Checker Auto Parts.

Litvin graduated from the University of Southern California in 1949, after which he served a year in the U.S. Army and another year at the University of Iowa Law School. He departed for New York in the early 1950s, where he wrote a daily stock market newsletter and served as a freelance journalist for newspapers in Galesburg and Knoxville, IL.

Litvin returned to Illinois in the early 1970s with the intent to be a full-time writer, settling in Wataga. Much of his authorship concerned the heritage of Galesburg—including famous resident, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)—and notable Jewish Americans, some of which took the form of historical fiction. Litvin also conducted workshops in creative writing at more than 250 public schools and 25 colleges across the United States.

Litvin died on January 29, 2000 in Galesburg, IL, and is buried in Oneida Cemetery alongside his long-term companion, Anna Sophia Johnson (1928-2023).

Find a Grave. "Martin Litvin." Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/243080015/martin-litvin.

Hopkins, Elaine. "MARTIN LITVIN, WRITER, DIES AT 72." Journal Star (Peoria, IL), February 3, 2000.

Illinois Center for the Book. "Martin Litvin." Illinois Authors. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.illinoisauthors.org/php/getSpecificAuthor.php?uid=6963.