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Speaking for Ourselves
Eighty-seven well-known American and English authors describe their life and work
- GenresNonfiction
231 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
9 people want to read
About the author
Donald R. Gallo
31 books17 followersDonald R. Gallo, often called the godfather of YA short stories, is the editor of more than a dozen acclaimed anthologies, including Sixteen, Destination Unexpected, First Crossing, and What Are You Afraid Of?. A former English teacher and professor, he began championing short stories written specifically for teens in 1980, addressing a gap in school curricula. His groundbreaking work has earned numerous accolades, including the ALAN Award for Outstanding Contributions to Young Adult Literature. Gallo now writes, edits, and presents workshops, while also enjoying photography, cooking, and travel from his home in Solon, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 19, 2009
A fascinating look at the "greats" of children's and young adult literature of the 20th century. I was surprised to see how many of them cited a fear for future children's safety as their motive for writing for them. Other shockers included a large number of authors who stopped writing for adults entirely after beginning to publish for younger readers and many who described their childhoods as reclusive, isolating or solitary. I was also (sort of) surprised to find that a few took the time to specifically mention public libraries as an essential part of their education as writers.
November 13, 2022
Having read the second volume first, I think I'm more partial to that one just because this one has a lot more writers I would solidly consider "children's" authors (for age 13 and under) vs. majority teen/young adult, but it still includes quite a number of folks whose body of work I adore, including my all-time favorite Lynn Hall.
And I still had a ton of fun going through it, reading the self-penned snapshot biographies, many with small side references to some of their novels, and looking the authors up on Goodreads afterward to further rifle through their catalogs. The authors featured in this collection do indeed comprise the biggest names in the latter half of the 20th century, the majority of whom retain name recognition to this day, though there are still a handful I hadn't heard of before. My favorite takeaway was learning that "Hadley Irwin" is in fact a pen name for a writing duo! Count me as shocked as all the young students they surprised over the years.
Full list of authors behind the spoiler cut. I typed them up for ease of viewing, but I draw the line at linking them all to their Goodreads author pages. :p
And I still had a ton of fun going through it, reading the self-penned snapshot biographies, many with small side references to some of their novels, and looking the authors up on Goodreads afterward to further rifle through their catalogs. The authors featured in this collection do indeed comprise the biggest names in the latter half of the 20th century, the majority of whom retain name recognition to this day, though there are still a handful I hadn't heard of before. My favorite takeaway was learning that "Hadley Irwin" is in fact a pen name for a writing duo! Count me as shocked as all the young students they surprised over the years.
Full list of authors behind the spoiler cut. I typed them up for ease of viewing, but I draw the line at linking them all to their Goodreads author pages. :p
June 14, 2016
An informative book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews