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We felt there was a need for some place where teenagers especially, but teachers and librarians and researchers, too--could get complete, up-to-date information about contemporary authors who write mainly for teenagers. For many years author and editor Don Gallo had wanted to interview notable authors about their writing and their personal lives. Doing that on video proved to be too costly. Doing it in book form would have been too restrictive--at best there could be only ten or twelve intensive interviews per book. In addition, such a book (or books) would not have been inexpensive and the information in any book of that nature would be out of date before it was published. What does this website provide that a book cannot? A website, unlike a book, provides as much space as we want for interviews and any additional information we choose to include about authors. Much additional information is available to readers at the click of a cursor, since we provide an amazing variety of links to other websites. For example, when someone reads that one of Joan Bauer’s favorite authors is Annie Proulx, they can click on that name and be taken immediately to a New York Times article about Proulx and her books. Similarly, when a reader comes to the part in William Sleator’s interview where he talks about living in Thailand, not only are there several color photos of the author at his home in Thailand, but the reader can also click on Bangkok and be linked to a travel site that features all sorts of information about that fascinating city. If an author mentions his/her favorite musical performance, the reader will find a link to that piece of music that he/she can listen to. A click on a book title will take you to reviews of that book or to Amazon where you can purchase it. Can’t do that with a book. A website also allows us to provide a number of color photographs, something that would be outrageously expensive in a book. We also add dates and places where these authors will be speaking, visiting schools, and signing books, something that changes weekly. A book is static--that is, what you see is exactly what you get, and no more. In contrast, this website provides readers with the most complete personal and bibliographical information anywhere and consistently keeps revising and adding to it. How often is the site updated? After an interview has been completed, each author is contacted every three to four months to see if there is anything new in her or his life--new books, new awards, new upcoming appearances. We also add new awards and new appearances as they are announced, so some information is updated within days of its occurrence, sometimes the same day. We also add additional interview questions and general information as the need arises under The Latest News at the end of each interview. Why can’t I find this information elsewhere on the Net? Certainly there is information about young adult authors elsewhere on the Internet. A lot of authors, in fact, have their own websites, though many of the authors on Authors4Teens.com do not. But not many of those other sites ask authors probing questions or analyze key elements of their books. Every major publishing company also features comments about, and interviews with, their authors. However, those interviews are very brief, and those spots understandably feature only books published by that particular publisher. Because most authors publish with more than one company, anyone seeking complete information about an author’s works will have to check the sites of several publishers. And those companies note only books; you won’t find information about an author’s short stories or essays published in professional journals, which we always include. In short, no other site provides as complete a bibliography of an author’s works and awards as we do. No other site provides as many links to additional information as we do. No other site provides as many photographs as we do. And, as noted earlier, many of these authors have no personal website and so this is the only place you will find detailed information about them. How are authors chosen for inclusion in Authors4Teens? Our choice of authors is neither random nor scientific. A number of factors are considered, the first being notability and quality. We started with authors who are in the forefront of books for teenagers. That means mostly fiction writers, especially recent award winners (such as Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Wittlinger) as well as those generally considered tops in the field (like Jerry Spinelli, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Chris Crutcher, Joan Bauer, Walter Dean Myers, and Paul Zindel). The most important factor we consider is whether the authors specialize in writing books for teenagers. Teens read contemporary authors such as Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Terry McMillan, and Orson Scott Card, but those authors write mainly for an adult audience, and their main characters are not usually teenagers. Similarly, some high schools include works by authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan, and Elie Wiesel, but those, too, are authors whose main audience has not been teenagers. So, even though their works may appeal to many older teenagers, we do not include interviews with those kinds of authors. Because all of these interviews are conducted via e-mail, the authors must have Internet access and an e-mail address. A few well-known authors are not on our roster because they are not yet online. Whether authors have their own websites or not seems to be another factor--those without one have seemed more willing to participate. Unfortunate for us, authors such as M.E. Kerr, Will Hobbs, and Kathleen Krull have chosen not to be interviewed for our site because they feel their personal sites are sufficient. Another important factor is how familiar the interviewer--Don Gallo--is with an author’s works. You can't very well ask intelligent questions if you haven't read an author’s books. So Don started with people whose works he was most familiar with. In most instances, he has read just about every novel, short story, article, poem, those authors have published. (He’s not a fan of fantasy and science fiction, however, which explains why there are few SF and fantasy writers on the site at this point. It’s something he’s working on.) And the most subjective factor of all is whether or not the interviewer has met the authors--at conferences, book signings, or through his editing activities during the past twenty years. People who know and trust an interviewer are much more likely to participate, especially in interviews as lengthy as these. As more authors learn about the site and see the evident quality of the interviews, they are likely to be more interested in being a participant. We are, nevertheless, always looking for good recommendations to add to our list for the future. Feel free to let us know whom you think we should consider. If you can providing us with the e-mail address of those authors, that’s even better. Why aren’t there more people of color on the site? If you think there should be more authors of color on this website, so do we. There are proportionally very few people of color writing specifically for teens, and it has been extremely difficult for us to get the cooperation of several of those. Some reasons given for declining the invitation include:
On the bright side, we do include an extensive and insightful interview with Walter Dean Myers, as well as a very interesting interview with Lensey Namioka. We are currently working with other authors, though progress has been slow. If you have suggestions of authors who meet the criteria of our site--that they are prominent, write mainly for teens, have an e-mail address, are willing to participate, and have the time to do so--we will be happy to add them to our list of potential interviewees. Who is the interviewer and what are his qualifications? Don Gallo--an author, editor, and former Professor of English--does all the interviews. Dr. Gallo is one of the most well-known, well-read, and highly respected educators in the field of literature for teenagers. His contacts with many authors over the past twenty or more years--at English and library conferences, soliciting autobiographical pieces for Speaking for Ourselves, and editing many short stories, plays, and essays written by several of these authors--have been invaluable. He knows many of the authors personally, and they know him, so there is a high level of trust and mutual appreciation for what they each do that makes the interviewing more relaxed and open. In fact, the interviews read more like conversations than question and answer sessions. For more information about Don Gallo and his background, check out his interview on the site. How are the interviews conducted? Everything is done through e-mail, except for signing an agreement form and submitting photographs. (And even some of the authors have sent their photographs electronically.) When an author has agreed to participate in this project, Don Gallo first assembles as complete a bibliography of the author’s work and honors as possible and sends that to the author for revisions and approval. So we know the bibs are as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Then Don sends each author a few questions at a time--usually between six and eight, though sometimes fewer. Many of the questions are general ones--Where were you born? What were your favorite subjects in high school? Where did the idea for your latest book come from? etc.--but many questions are designed specifically for an individual, with each question following logically from the author’s previous answers, making it sound more conversational. Because of the busy writing and travel schedules of many of the authors, some interviews have taken more than a year to complete, though others have been finished in two months. When an author has provided responses to the last set of questions, Gallo then goes back over the entire interview, checking the interrelationships of the questions and answers, sometimes rearranging a sentence or an entire section so that it all reads smoothly, and then sends the whole interview to the author for his/her final revisions and approval. At the same time, an editor at Greenwood Press reads the interview, making suggestions for minor changes and trying to catch any mechanical errors that may have been overlooked earlier. After everyone has approved, the whole piece is sent to the electronic experts at Greenwood, who create the links and scan in the photos before uploading it to the website. What kinds of information do these interviews provide about these authors? These interviews will provide you with just about anything you care to know about an author. You can find out what their teenage years were like--how involved they were in school, their favorite activities, favorite music, how well they got along with their parents and siblings, etc. More specifically you can find out how Chris Crutcher got through high school without reading books, how Graham Salisbury used to be a surfer dude in Hawaii, and what famous people Joan Lowery Nixon knew when she was a student at Hollywood High School. You’ll learn where the ideas for specific novels came from, what scenes are based on real events, how much is autobiographical, and how teen readers as well as adults have responded to those books. Authors will explain how they take notes, how they organize their ideas, and how they write. They will also describe their work spaces and tell you what kind of computers they use or what kinds of pens or pencils they prefer to write with. You will get glimpses of what some of these noted authors are working on now (though not everyone is willing to talk about their work in progress). Each author also provides advice that can improve your own writing. Some even give advice to teachers about how they might make writing and the study of literature more interesting for students. Specifically, you can find out how Harry met Norma (Mazer), how Laurie Halse Anderson’s dreams influence her writing, why Joan Lowery Nixon started writing mysteries, how much of Joey Pigza is autobiographical, what famous movie and television stars Paul Zindel has met, what William Sleator does in Thailand, what books Tamora Pierce relies on for information about the magical worlds she creates, how bad Walter Dean Myers’ behavior was in grammar school, why Lurlene McDaniel write the kinds of novels she does, what Ron Koertge enjoys doing most when he’s not writing, and if Annette Curtis Klause is really a werewolf. Everything is revealed here! Why can’t teachers find teaching ideas on this site? This site is for teens as well as for teachers, librarians, and parents. It’s about the lives of authors and their writing; it’s not a place where teachers can pick up a couple of questions to use to teach a specific book. (However, we do provide some links to other places on the net where teachers can get ideas for teaching some of the books we focus on.) We’re mostly concerned about having fun and maybe learning something along the way. So, enjoy yourselves! How can a student contact an author? After reading the interview a student may want to contact the author. Some authors have their own web sites. See the free links section for a list of websites for popular young adult authors. If one does not find a website with contact information, a student should ask a librarian for help. There are directories that provide contact information for the publisher of the authors' works. For an example, if an author's web site, see Graham Salisbury's link in the links section. |
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