You read their books, but do you really know who they are?

How many of these quotes by or about YA authors can you identify?

 

1. "I have always had a fascination for any writers who saw a vision of another world, or who needed to write something that was different than anything else around, that looked through a window into "There" rather than "Here". People like the Brontes, Milton, JRR Tolkien. Their process fascinates me because I, too, have been living that parallel life."

2. "The worse my parents' marriage got, the more I wrote, so that by the time they got divorced (I was in seventh grade and had just discovered fantasy and science fiction), I was hooked on writing. I tried to write the same kind of stories I read (except with teenaged girl heroes, like me--not too many of those around in the 1960's). Writing was as natural as breathing, right up until tenth grade. Then I stopped being able to write my own fiction."

3. "But I've been to Edmonton in Alberta on three separate occasions, and each time it was a beautiful, clear night and the people said we were bound to see them [northern lights], they turned up every night, it was just the right time of year, there was no question of it, they were here last night, you should have seen them, you could bet your life they'll give a good show tonight, and so on and so on. And did they show up? Not a flicker. I'm beginning to think they're just one of these travelers's tales."

4. "I am all my protagonists. You can only write about what you know, and I'm the only person I know that well. Of course I'm Meg. I made her good at arithmetic and bad at English, and I was good at English and bad at arithmetic. And I didn't have any brothers or sisters so I gave her three brothers. You can do that if you're a writer. ... I was a solitary only child in New York City, so I spent a lot of time in my little back room writing, reading, being, thinking, wondering. "

5. "Times for ideas? Everywhere, all the time. Phrases, fragments, small snippets of dialogue, the face (or name) of a character. Something visual: the way the light falls on a porch; the walk and posture of a stranger. For me (for all writers, I'm certain) the world is a constant barrage of the imagination. And words, too. If you'll forgive the overly personal reference here: when my son was killed recently, I received that terrible news on the telephone, at 5:30 AM, awakened from sleep. The phrase, "ruined dawn" appeared in my mind then and has been there ever since. Is that an "idea"? Not really. But it is a concept which is so strong that I know eventually it will write itself somewhere."

 

 

 (Hint: Choose from these authors Madeleine L'Engle, Lois Lowry, Tamora Pierce, Philip Pullman and Sherwood Smith)

 

 

 

 

ANSWERS:

1. sherwood smith 2. Tamora pierce 3. Philip pullman 4. Madeleine L'Engle 5. Lois Lowry