Karen Cushman
Newbery award-winning children’s book author
What do you find most frustrating about researching a book you’re writing? I know other writers who swear by it (Kirby Larson, I’m looking at you) but I hate reading old newspapers on microfiche. Talk about frustrating. Maybe that’s why I mostly write about pre-newspaper eras.
We Americans have been commemorating our war dead with flowers and speeches for more than 150 years. Each year we hope there will be no more soldiers to bury, but still we send our sons and daughters into battle. Lately I read that 2018 has been deadlier for school children than for soldiers. It’s a hard truth to face. More
What’s your favorite part of researching a book you’re writing? I like the early research that give the flavor of a time, a few interesting facts, and a place for me to stand. It gets harder later when I search for specifics such as, “Was there mail delivery at Mission Beach, San Diego, 1941?” Never did find that answer. Do
If you could invite four people from history over for dinner, who would be sitting around your dinner table? What food would you serve? Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Oscar Wilde for their strength, intelligence, and wit, and Paul Newman, because who wouldn’t? I’d serve roast chicken because that’s what I always serve. And salad with grapes and avocados. And
If you could time travel to any point in history, where and when would you go first? To be honest, I’m not sure I would pick any. Such noise, such smells, such danger. If I were pushed to choose, I’d like to see Robin Hood and his Merry Men cavort in Sherwood Forest. I’d guess that would be medieval, although
Do you remember your first exposure to medieval history? What clicked with you about that time? In 1965 and many years after, I attended Renaissance Faires and was enchanted by the color, the music, the people, the language and food and life. I transported the fair in my mind to the middle ages and held the memory tightly for 25
Do you recall a particular book that your family enjoyed reading out loud when your daughter was young? Yes! The brilliant, subversive How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen by Russell Hoban, with fabulous illustrations by Quentin Blake, in which Tom teaches the Captain and his sportsmen about the value of fooling around. My husband could, and probably
This month, I’m answering frequently asked questions. Here’s the first: What’s the one book that pops into your mind first when you think of books you read when you were young? What do you remember most about that book? One book? No way. It has to be a three-way tie: Blue Willow, by Doris Gates, the story of a migrant
The following is an interview with author Karen Cushman about the 1999 movie-making experience of The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, starring Glenn Close, Robert Pastorelli, and Meat Loaf, as well as Jena Malone, who played California “Lucy” Whipple. Be sure to view the photos at the end of this interview. We recently watched The Ballad of Lucy Whipple on The
Sad news from Shelf Awareness today: Obituary Note: Katherine Kellgren “Katherine Kellgren, who narrated more than 200 audio books and was winner of multiple Audie Awards, died on January 10 after a long battle with cancer. Robin Whitten, founder of Audiofile Magazine, called Kellgren ‘a brilliant narrator… Her wonderful performances are known and loved by listeners. Her work was celebrated with
