“Every
published writer suffers through that first draft because most of the time,
that's a disappointment.” – Rebecca Stead
So,
for this American writer, second drafts definitely carry the “wow” factor. Stead’s 2010 novel When You Reach Me won the Newbery Medal, the oldest
award in children's literature. And in
2013 she was named for the Guardian Prize recognizing her book Liar &
Spy as the year's best children's book released in Great Britain.
Stead,
who grew up in Manhattan, said she enjoyed writing as a child but later felt
that it was "impractical" and became a lawyer instead. After years as
a public defender she returned to writing after the birth of her two children,
writing her first book First Light as
entertainment for her oldest son. “I
asked myself what it was that I wanted from writing and where my connection
with books began,” she said, “and the answer to that question was definitely in
childhood, because that's where my connection with reading began.”
When You Reach Me was
recently named the 11th best children’s novel of all time in a
survey by the School Library Journal,
and Newbery judges noted, "Every scene, every nuance, every word is vital
both to character development and the progression of the mystery that really is
going to engage young readers and satisfy them.” It was the only 21st-century work among the
top 20 in the Children’s novel rankings.
“A lot of my ideas for books come
from newspaper articles. But I don't like to be actively looking for ideas,”
she said. “I do try to write in ways
that reflect reality, and I think that reality is rarely simple.”
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