Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Steadis an American writer of fiction for children and teens. She won the American Newbery Medal in 2010, the oldest award in children's literature, for her second novel When You Reach Me...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChildren's Author
Date of Birth16 January 1968
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
anymore books few fiction kinds loved people robert science wonderful
I loved reading all kinds of books, but I particularly loved books like 'Red Planet' by Robert Heinlein, which very few people read anymore but is a wonderful science fiction story.
books certain landed package problem terrible titles trouble truth
There's this trouble with books for me because I'm terrible at thinking of titles. The truth is, even with the titles that I've landed on in the end, they always feel wrong. I think it's because of this whole problem of having to package your book in a certain way.
authors bit books course experience hoping mystery publishing remember since time work writers
I am hoping to work with writers publishing books for first time, since I of course remember what that experience is like. It's all a bit of a mystery for new authors who don't know what to expect.
books help learning noticing reactions teach
I think that's one of the most important things that books do: not to teach you anything, but to help you teach yourself by just being in the world of the book and having your own thoughts and reactions and noticing your own reactions and thoughts and learning about yourself that way.
avoid books tend
My books tend to have a lot of questions in them, and they tend to avoid black and white, for lack of a better metaphor.
answer asked books connection definitely
I asked myself what it was that I wanted from writing and where my connection with books began, and the answer to that question was definitely in childhood, because that's where my connection with reading began.
actively books
A lot of my ideas for books come from newspaper articles. But I don't like to be actively looking for ideas.
felt giant known sort within
I like the idea of a world, even within a big giant city, where you're not anonymous. You have an identity, and that's an identity that's known just sort of by shopkeepers. I felt that as a kid, and I loved it.
home
I have nothing like a writing routine. I sometimes have trouble buckling down to write at home.
favourite james judy kids kinds klein liked paula ray science
I never had a favourite book! I liked all kinds of things - science fiction, so I read Heinlen and Ray Bradbury, and I also liked reading about kids like myself, so I read Judy Blume and Norma Klein and Paula Danzinger and a lot of other writers. I also read James Herriot!
kid lived manhattan parts section west
I try to remember what it was like to be a kid in New York. I lived in different parts of my childhood in Manhattan on the Upper West Side, where 'When You Reach Me' is set, and also in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.
During the week,I'm really focused on writing and output. Sunday is a day when I really try not to write at all.
published suffers time
Every published writer suffers through that first draft because most of the time, that's a disappointment.
best boy corner growing laughing mysterious
There was a boy in my building who was my best friend when I was growing up. There was also a mysterious person on my corner who we called the Laughing Man.