For the 11th year of NaNoWriMo, these authors will be sharing their thoughts and advice about writing with you! We'll be emailing two pep talks per week in November. We hope their words provide the spark you need to finish your November novel!
Chris Baty
Chris is hard at work on his 11th NaNoWriMo novel, which he hopes will be better than his 10th NaNoWriMo novel. You can read his 2009 pep talks here.
Lynda Barry
Read Lynda's pep talk
Lynda Barry is a cartoonist and writer, who has authored such titles as The Good Times Are Killing Me
, CRUDDY
, and the graphic novels One Hundred Demons
and What It Is
, which won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. She lives near Footville, Wisconsin with her husband.
Peter Carey
Peter Carey was born in Australia in 1943. After four novels had been written and rejected Fat Man in History
— a short story collection — was published in 1974. He moved to New York in 1990, where he completed The Tax Inspector
. In 2003 he joined Hunter College as the Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing. Two of his novels, Oscar and Lucinda
and True History of the Kelly Gang: A Novel
have won the Booker Prize.
Kristin Cashore
Kristin Cashore is the author of Graceling, the winner of the 2009 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and the SIBA Book Award for YA Literature, a Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and a finalist for the Andre Norton Award and the Indies Choice Book Awards. Her latest book, Fire
, will be available this fall. Kristin lives and writes in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Jasper Fforde
Read Jasper's pep talk
Jasper Fforde is the best-selling author of the Thursday Next
and Nursery Crime
books. He has been writing for twenty years, but only published for ten. His training took a while. His eighth book, Shades of Grey, will be published in January 2010. He lives and writes in Wales, has a large family and likes to fly aeroplanes.
Lindsey Grant
This is Lindsey's second year as NaNoWriMo's Community Liaison, and she is very excited about completing her second November novel. You can read her pep talk here.
Maureen Johnson
Read Maureen's pep talk
Maureen Johnson was both an only and indoor child. She is the author of seven YA novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes
, Devilish
, Suite Scarlett
, and the joint-authored Let It Snow
(with John Green and Lauren Myracle). Her next book, Scarlett Fever
, will be released in February 2010. She is currently working on the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes and the first book in a new paranormal crime series, both of which are set for release in 2011. She has an MFA in writing from Columbia University and spends far too much time online.
Gail Carson Levine
Read Gail's pep talk
Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and has been writing all her life. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted
, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Her other books include Dave at Night
, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; and the six Princess Tales
books. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
.
Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown
and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword
. Her other books include Dragonhaven
, Beauty
, Rose Daughter
, Deerskin
, The Outlaws of Sherwood
, Spindle's End
, and Chalice
. Her novel Sunshine
won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature.
Robin lives in England with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson, two hellhounds, an 1897 Steinway upright, and increasing numbers of rose-bushes. You may visit Robin at www.robinmckinley.com and www.robinmckinleysblog.com.
Tamora Pierce
Read Tamora's pep talk
Tamora Pierce is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and has written more than two-dozen books, including her newest, Bloodhound: The Legend of Beka Cooper #2
, as well as being co-author, with her husband Timothy Liebe, of White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion
from Marvel Comics. Her books are translated into eleven languages and available in English worldwide. Pierce lives in Syracuse, New York with her husband, Tim, seven tame and three semi-feral cats, two birds, and various freeloading wildlife.
