Q&A: Meet the 2012 Printz Award Winner John Corey Whaley
Last year, a debut author from a small town in Louisiana (WOOT! LOUISIANA PRIDE!) proudly/nervously anticipated the day that his book would hit store shelves. And when that magical day came, little did John Corey Whaley know that his days as an English teacher were numbered and his life as an award-winning author would soon begin. From becoming the first young adult author to ever receive the National Book Foundations ‘5 Under 35’ Honor, to winning the William C. Morris Debut Author Award AND the 2012 Michael L. Printz winner for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.
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| Stephanie Wilkes of TLT and Printz Winner John Corey Whaley |
Can you describeWhere Things Come Back in 140 characters or less?
2.) I never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich until I was 24 years old.
3.) Despite being a writer (and a rather quick one), I am a terribly slow reader-always have been. It sometimes takes me weeks to get through a book.
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Today is the one year anniversary of the publication of the multiple award winning book Where Things Come Back. How are we celebrating? With a signed book giveaway of course. Follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter to win. And be sure to read this Why YA? post to learn how grad student Callie Ann feels about Where Things Come Back.
John Corey Whaley is the 2012 Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris Award winner for his debut novel, Where Things Come Back. He was also named a 2011 5 Under 35 Author by the National Book Foundation. Find out more at his webpage and follow him on Twitter (@corey_whaley). Where Things Comes Back is the moving tale of Cullen Witter and his life in a small town with a missing brother, a missionary who is lost in other ways, and the strange reappearance of the extinct Lazarus Woodpecker. “Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It’s about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.” It’s about the dream of second chances.” – from Goodreads.com “This extraordinary tale from a rare literary voice finds wonder in the ordinary and illuminates the hope of second chances.” – Amazon.com
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Filed under: John Corey Whaley, Michael L. Printz Award, Where Things Come Back
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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I got the ARC and I let is sit for a bit, and then I picked it up one day. I was hooked early on, and I have to say at first slightly confused by the shift in story line from Cullen's family to the missionary student, but amazingly it all comes together and wow! WOW. I will add that for me the ending was 'did it really happened' and 'am I being completely hopeful and want it to end well?', or did it not. It is one of those books that I want to ask Mr. Whaley — is it true? Could be that satisfying to know… I am disappointed that I won't be going to ALA/Printz Reception, because if I were, I would ask him. Too, throughout the story, there is the preface of 'if this..' or something like that, and it made me really start to pay more attention to how the scene was going to play out when those couple of words showed up. Which at the end, I poured through the text and really tried to determine 'if this..' I gave the ARC away immediately to another youth librarian to read, and since then, I'm sure its passed onto others, so I don't have a copy to reference about the exact words, anyway, for me this story is about hope, and do recommend this book to others as a must read. Thanks.
Aw… I love this interview. AND I love a guy who can wear a cardigan!
Right? I love a good cardigan on a guy. And I love v-necked shirts. Both of which my husband refuses to wear. ::sigh:: (I had to repost b/c my picture wasn't showing up and I couldn't figure out why…problem solved. I'm a dork.)
This was one of my favorite books last year, and I wasn't a bit surprised when it won the Printz. I would love to have a signed copy to give to one of our lucky Library teens!
I saw John Corey Whaley speak at ALA in Dallas right after the winners were announced, and he was adorable! So heartfelt and excited! I can't imagine what it must feel like to win so many awards at once as a first time author. Can't wait to read his forthcoming books. This was a great interview!
One of my favorite books from the past year. And that's saying a lot since I'm a teen librarian and spend vast amounts of time reading. I'm still thinking about WTCB and keep making my colleagues check it out so that I can talk to them about the book.
I happen to know the Callie Ann mentioned at the bottom of this post and I want to read whatever she recommends. And as she HIGHLY recommends this book, I need a copy!
Several months ago, I noticed this book while shelving. The cover really stuck with me and I ended up going back out to the stacks to pick it up a few hours later. I'm glad I did!
I saw WTCB while doing some reader's advisory in the teen section of the library I work at, but I just haven't gotten to that point in my summer reading list yet! Two of the other librarians spoke very highly of it, so I'm really looking forward to reading it!
I saw Corey speak at Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and I really enjoyed his presentation. His book sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it!
At the top of my summer list – the chatter about the ending has me intrigued!
I first picked up the book because of the postcard that had a Zombie and a Woodpecker. I was intrigued… not at all what I was expecting, but a great read! I'll be talking it up to teens this summer! Thanks for sharing the great interview.
I haven't read it yet! Love coming of age stories!