Karen Cushman
Newbery award-winning children’s book author
In that same interview that asked me about favorite fantasy novels, I was also asked to share my favorite museums. I chose ten of them. Here’s the first, although these aren’t in any set order. The Story Museum, Oxford: A museum with exhibitions, activities, and programs dedicated to stories and storytelling. I am actually cheating here. I’ve never been but
You may have heard. I have a fantasy novel coming out in June, Grayling’s Song. An interviewer recently asked me to recommend my ten favorite fantasy novels. Here they are, in no particular order. I’ll post them over the next few weeks. You might notice that all these novels are funny or have substantial humor in them. I don’t like a
In this troubled and troubling world, I am amazed at how much I have to be thankful for, starting with these two beloved people here, Thank you to my readers, who make it possible for me to continue in this impossibly difficult, impossibly rewarding profession. I hope your Thanksgiving is joyous and meaningful.
I was recently asked what I was reading, so I thought I’d share here as well. On my reading table (or iPad) now: Mary Carr, The Art of Memoir; William Saroyan, The Human Comedy; Annie Barrows, The Truth According to Us; Judy Brown, This is Not a Love Story; Erin Bowman, Vengeance Road. Have you read any of these books? Let
I just happened upon this splendid website for all things medieval: Medievalists.net, a website for people interested in the Middle Ages. “We are creating an online resource for all things of the Middle Ages. Whether you are a medieval professor or a fan of video games with knights in it, this site will be for you. On our site you
Q. Some people feel that if the writer has lived through it, it can’t be termed historical fiction. Teachers are considering historical fiction to be anything before 2000, because their students didn’t live through those times. How do you feel about this? Is The Loud Silence of Francine Green historical fiction? A. Jane Yolen says that children think a historical novel is
Moderator: How did the McCarthy Era affect you? When you were living through it, did you think of it as “an era”? Is that something we only create in hindsight? Cushman: I am enough younger than Francine so that the only McCarthy I knew was Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen’s ventriloquist dummy. Joseph McCarthy and his era really were not a topic
JC Kato has won the 2015 Cushman Late Bloomer Award with her manuscript for Finding Moon Rabbit, the incredible story of Koko Hayashi, a ten-year-old girl who doesn’t follow rules, but must survive with her mother and sister in a Wyoming internment camp. JC said she’s been wanting to write this story ever since she married into the Kato family, and
I have been reading a lot lately since I don’t have a new book in the hopper and here are my favorites from the first half of this year. Thanks to the generosity of the publishers, I read these first three in advanced readers copies: Circling the Sun (adult), Paula McLain, Ballantine Books, July 28, 2015: an engrossing novel about
Q: What does “home” means to you? A: We live in the woods, on an island. Coming home from the big city, I really experience the importance of place. The closer the ferry gets to the island, the more relaxed I feel. My shoulders let go, my head empties. This place is where I leave traffic and crowds behind and
