Two-time Newberry Award winner and one of my childhood heroes, Katherine Patterson, and I discuss how she transformed from a “mediocre writer” to a Living Legend (so designated by the Library of Congress in 2000). We chat about her newest novel, BIRDIE’S BARGAIN, how Hollywood demanded a sequel to BRIDGE TO TERABETHIA, the time she kissed Robert Patrick, the importance of maintaining the feeling of childhood injustice, writing sparse descriptions, the mysteries of inspiration, the influence of THE YEARLING, the nature of God, and so, so much more, and we have a whole lot of fun doing it.
Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 30 books, including 17 novels for children and young people. She has won the Newbery Medal twice, for Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 and Jacob Have I Loved in 1981. Her book The Master Puppeteer won the National Book Award in 1977; The Great Gilly Hopkins won the National Book Award in 1979 and was also a Newbery Honor Book. For the body of her work she received the Hans Christian Anderson Medal in 1998, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2006, the NSK Neustadt Award in 2007, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (Children's Literature Legacy Award) in 2013, and the E. B. White Award in 2019. In 2000 she was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. Paterson is a vice-president of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance and is a member of the board of trustees for Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Montpelier, Vermont with her dog, Pixie.
In a poignant and unflinching new realistic novel from the Newbery Medal–winning author of Bridge to Terabithia, a ten-year-old girl makes a deal with God for her father's safe return from the Iraq War.
Birdie has questions for God. For starters, why couldn’t God roll history back to September 10, 2001, and fix things—so the next day was an ordinary sunny day and not the devastating lead-in to two wars? Daddy has already been to Iraq twice. Now he’s going again, and Birdie is sure he’ll die. At the very least, she won’t see him again for a year, and everything will not be OK. (Why do grown-ups lie?) To save money, she, Mom, and baby Billy have moved to Gran’s, where shy Birdie must attend a new school, and no one but bossy Alicia Marie Suggs welcomes her. Doesn’t God remember how hard it was for Birdie to make friends at Bible Camp? Counselor Ron taught about Judgment there—and the right way to believe. Has Birdie been praying wrong? Why else would God break their bargain? Readers of all faiths and backgrounds, especially children of military families, will identify with and root for the unforgettable Birdie, given inimitable voice by a master storyteller.
Kate DiCamillo’s writing journey has truly been a remarkable one. She grew up in Florida and moved to Minnesota in her twenties, where homesickness and a bitter winter led her to write Because of Winn-Dixie — her first published novel, which became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. The Tiger Rising, her second novel, was also set in Florida, and went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the best-selling author has explored settings as varied as a medieval castle, a magician’s theater, and the bustling streets of Memphis, while continuing to enjoy great success, winning two Newbery Medals and being named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
In her latest novel Raymie Nightingale, an instant New York Times #1 bestseller, she returns to her roots, once more setting the story in the Central Florida of her childhood. Like Raymie Clarke, the hero of this novel, Kate DiCamillo grew up in a small southern town in the seventies with a single mother, and she, too, entered a Little Miss contest and attempted to learn to twirl a baton. But while Raymie’s story is inspired by the author’s own life, Kate DiCamillo has transformed these seeds of truth into fiction — and in doing so, has captured a more universal truth.
No matter where her books are set, their themes of hope and belief amid impossible circumstances and their messages of shared humanity and connectedness have resonated with readers of all ages around the world. In her instant #1 New York Times bestseller The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a haughty china rabbit undergoes a profound transformation after finding himself facedown on the ocean floor — lost, and waiting to be found. The Tale of Despereaux — the Newbery Medal–winning novel that later inspired an animated adventure from Universal Pictures — stars a tiny mouse with exceptionally large ears who is driven by love to become an unlikely hero. The Magician’s Elephant, an acclaimed and exquisitely paced fable, dares to ask the question, What if? And Kate DiCamillo’s second Newbery Medal winner, Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, was released in 2013 to great acclaim, garnering five starred reviews and an instant spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books? You know I can't do this, right? And you did say that I could cheat. So, let's see— today my top three favorite middle grade novels are:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Michael Bond's Paddington
And E.B. White's Charlotte's Web
Question Six: How much time do you spend each week writing? Reading? Oooh, I like this question. No one has ever asked this before. Let's see.
Writing: about 14 hours. Reading: about 30 hours.
Question Five: What was the path that led you to publication?
I was working in a book warehouse and I said to a Candlewick rep: I love everything that Candlewick does but I can't get in the door because I don't have an agent and I've never been published.
And that Candlewick rep (bless her) said: if you get me a manuscript, I will get it to an editor. Question Four: Do you believe writers are born, taught or both? Which was true for you? Hmmmm. This is tough. I think it's probably a combination of the two.
But I have come to believe that what matters is how much you want to do the work. What matters more than talent is the desire. And the relentlessness, the refusing to give up.
I wanted to be a writer so much. I refused to give up. Question Three: What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your least favorite thing?
My favorite thing is that finished book. The thrill of it never goes away.
And the least favorite? You never know if you're doing it right. With each book, you have to learn how to write all over again.
Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)
Read read read read read read read read.
Write. And rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.
Don't despair. Don't give up. Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?
Katherine Paterson. Because she is one of my favorite people on the planet, and I am a better human being in her company.
