At the heart of 'amazing and cool'

 

“Teens want to read something that isn't a lie; we adults wish we could put our heads under the blankets and hide from the scary story we're writing for our kids.” – Paolo Bacigalupi

 

Born in the small Western Colorado town of Paonia (population less than 1,500) on this date in 1972, Bacigalupi grew up on a farm, studied writing and Chinese, traveled the globe, and started his career writing stories – both journalistic and creative – about Far Eastern cultures and countries.   Today, he is best known for his science fiction and fantasy writing for Young Adults. 

 

Winner of most of the major Sci-Fi prizes, including Hugo, Nebula and Michael L. Printz Awards, he also has been nominated for a National Book Award and is a regular contributor to magazines, journals and newspapers.   

 

Fact-based, journalistic style permeates his work, especially in his award-winning collection Pump Six and Other Stories, and in his much-celebrated novel The Windup Girl, set in 23^rd Century Thailand.  A great “What If?” tale, the book made almost every “Best Novel” and “Best Sci-Fi” list.    His most recent book is 2024’s Navola,, called “historical fantasy with echoes of Renaissance Italy, The Godfather and Game of Thrones” by reviewers.

 

Bacigalupi said he’s glad young people are drawn to his works. “As a writer, you should care about reluctant readers,” he said.  “You want kids to feel like books are amazing and cool and that they're an escape.”