'Hungering for their stories'

 

“Readers are hungry to have their stories in the world, to see mirrors of themselves if the stories are about people like them, and to have windows if the stories are about people who have been historically absent in literature.” – Jacqueline Woodson 

 

Born in Columbus, OH in February of 1963, Woodson has built her writing career around strong, emotional and optimistic stories, especially for young people.  Woodson said she dislikes books that do not offer hope and often uses that philosophy in her writing.  "If you love the people you create,” she said, “you can see the hope there." 

     

Woodson grew up in South Carolina and Brooklyn, NY and started writing in Middle School.   Among her best-known books are the Newbery Honor winners Miracle’s Boys, After Tupac and D Foster, and Brown Girl Dreaming (for which she also won the National Book Award).  

 

She’s written for all ages, authoring more than three dozen books ranging from Childen’s to adult and winning nearly as many major awards, including a MacArthur Foundation (Genius) Grant in 2020.   Her most recent title is The Year We Learned to Fly.

 

A one-time Young People's Poet Laureate and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature – both named by the Library of Congress – she said she consciously writes for a younger audience.

 

“I love writing for young people. It's the literature that was most important to me, the stories that shaped me and informed my own journey as a writer.”