'It's a vibration in your bones'

 

“You know how sometimes you hear a chord played on an organ and you can feel it vibrating in your bones? Sometimes when I'm writing, I can feel my bones vibrating because I'll have a thought or I'll have a character's voice in my head, and that's when I know I'm on the right track.” – Laurie Halse Anderson

 

Born in Potsdam, NY on this date in 1961 Anderson is the award-winning author of numerous children's and young adult novels for which she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her contributions to young adult literature. 

 

Among her best-known and most honored books are Speak, Wintergirls, and the 3-book Seeds of America or Chain series.  She also has authored a 17-volume Vet Volunteers series and is an advocate for veterans.

 

While she grew up enjoying reading and writing, she always looked upon it as a hobby until after her graduation from Georgetown University.  After beginning writing as a journalist, she switched to children’s picture books, then gravitated to the YA genre, her primary focus since 1999.   After writing her most recent book, the award-winning memoir Shout, she was honored in 2023 with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award – one of the richest and most prestigious prizes in young people’s literature.   

“The feedback I get is that my books are honest,” Anderson said. “I don't sugar-coat anything. Life is really hard.”