From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 08:48:00 -0500

Thanks to all of you who have started our discussion in the first week by telling us about some of the new authors you especially appreciate.

There are three additional new voices in young adult literature that come to my mind immediately:

1) Markus Zusak, author of "Fighting Ruben Wolfe," a wise and witty novel about the relationship between two working-class teenage brothers. It was one of ALA/YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults last year, and if you have not yet read it, I encourage you to seek it out.

2) Rachel Cohn, author of "Gingerbread," a funny novel from the point of view of a seemingly out-of-control teenage girl named Cyd Charisse who's been booted out of boarding school, and is trying to come to terms with her friends and family.

3) Adam Bagdasarian, author of "Forgotten Fire," a beautifully written historical novel about the Armenian holocaust featuring a young teen who manages to survive on his own for four years.

All three of these authors have created such polished first books that it makes me wonder what they were ever doing before they were writing for young adults? I'd be curious to hear from anyone who was involved in publishing the three books listed above as to how these authors came to their attention.
 

Kathleen T. Horning, Acting Director Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706

horning at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608&3721 Fax: 608&2I33 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Fri 11 Oct 2002 08:48:00 AM CDT