John Corey Whaley
John Corey Whaley
John Corey Whaleyis an American writer of contemporary realistic novels for young adults. His first novel, Where Things Come Back, was published by Atheneum Books in 2011 and Whaley won the Printz Award from the American Library Association in 2012, recognizing it as the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth19 January 1984
CountryUnited States of America
chronic dealing illness individual mental nature nuances taught
Dealing with chronic anxiety has taught me to better understand the nuances of mental illness and the very individual nature of it.
flooding people town
I thought, 'What if I were 17, and it was my small town of Springhill, Louisiana? How would I feel if people started flooding in to see some bird?'
francisco incredibly might readers san town
I know what it's like to be from an incredibly small town and the oppressiveness of it and the desire to get out. But I didn't realize that readers in Seattle, New York, and San Francisco might not get that so instinctively.
adapt few home prefer work
If I'm really under pressure to get work done, I can adapt to most situations, but I prefer to be at home, in a comfortable chair, with as few distractions as possible.
aloud english forever high mean mom needing pass reader school sit slow super terrible tests took
I was a terrible reader as a kid. I mean terrible. Super slow and very unfocused. It took me forever to read a book, and I remember being well into high school and still needing my mom to sit down and read aloud to me so I could pass my English tests and such.
fit grew growing knew small town
I grew up in a little town with about 6,000 or 7,000 people. I always knew from 11 or 12 years old that I wanted to be a writer, and I always wanted to write about growing up in a place like that that's small and you don't fit into.
amazing bit brilliant editor experience great learning novel second situation stressful team took turned
Approaching my second novel was, admittedly, a bit of a struggle. But having an amazing team at Atheneum Books, especially my very patient, brilliant editor Namrata Tripathi, took a stressful situation and turned it into a really great learning experience for me.
sibling past persons
A sibling represents a person's past, present, and future,
fate dying-alone people
Some people say dying alone is a fate worse than death itself. Well, they should try being alone during the living part sometimes. There's no quicker way to make you wonder why the hell you ever thought you'd want to return.