AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. AdLit.org is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital, and is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
Recently Featured Authors
M.T. Anderson
M.T. Anderson is the author of a wide variety of books for children and young adults. His dystopian novel Feed has earned many awards, and his success continues with the Thrilling Tales series. More >>
Avi
Avi is the 2003 Newbery Medal award winning author of Crispin: A Cross of Lead. In this exclusive interview Avi talks about the challenges of writing, his years as a librarian, and his symptoms of dyslexia. More >>
T.A. Barron
From exploring Africa and Asia to working on Wall Street, T.A. Barron brings a variety of experiences to his career as a writer. More >>
Joan Bauer
A self-described "punk" as a child, Joan Bauer uses humor and hope to write about challenging topics. More >>
Judy Blume
Judy Blume has been writing realistic fiction about the issues that young people are concerned about: sibling rivalry, friendships, puberty and changing bodies, divorce, race, sexuality. More >>
Susan Campbell-Bartoletti
During her 18 years as a middle school teacher, Susan Campbell Bartoletti challenged herself as a writer by completing assignments along with her students. Today, Bartoletti aims to provide her audience with one thing all readers crave: a good story well told. More >>
Sneed Collard
Sneed Collard developed an early curiosity and love for science and the natural world, as his parents were both biologists. Today, Collard has authored many expository books for all ages. More >>
Christopher Paul Curtis
Christopher Paul Curtis did not become a published author until he was in his 40's. Before his first novel was published, he spent much of his adult life working in an automobile factory. Work at the factory was so unbearable that Curtis had hallucinations at night of assembly lines moving through his bedroom. More >>
Kate DiCamillo
At first glance, it may appear that Kate DiCamillo waltzed onto the children's book scene and experienced nothing but success. Her first published novel, Because of Winn-Dixie, won a Newbery Honor in 2001. In 2004 DiCamillo's book, The Tale of Despereaux, received the coveted Newbery Medal. More >>
Sid Fleischman
Sid Fleischman has written dozens of books for children, and each one is crafted carefully with vivid detail and expressive language. Fleischman knows that a great children's book will live with readers for a long, long time and he wants to get it right. More >>
Candace Fleming
Candace Fleming writes novels filled with humor and quirky characters and biographies that make their subjects come alive. More >>
Jack Gantos
Jack Gantos' interesting life has provided the raw material for many of his books. The Jack Henry middle-grade fiction series was based on Gantos' own adventures as a boy, and the award-winning Joey Pigza books resulted from Gantos' interactions with children with ADHD. More >>
John Green
When this award-winning author isn't writing books for young adults, he's vlogging with his brother for a large audience on YouTube. More >>
Shannon Hale
As a child, Shannon Hale began writing books, mostly fantasy stories where she was the heroine. As an adult, her re-tellings and riffs on fairy tales, reach a new generation of kids less familiar with these classic stories. More >>
Laurie Halse-Anderson
Whether writing about the past or present, real people or imagined characters, Laurie Halse Anderson is a compelling writer. She plays with form and style to present individuals from the inside and Anderson's playful side emerges when she looks at real history and women who played a role in it. More >>
Emma Walton Hamilton
Emma Walton Hamilton is an author, editor, arts educator, arts and literacy advocate, and a parent. She has co-authored 16 children's books with her mother, Julie Andrews, including board books, picture books and The Great American Mousical. More >>
Deborah Heiligman
Deborah Heiligman writes fiction and nonfiction for kids of all ages. She's published more than 26 books exploring topics as diverse as religious celebrations around the world, babies, and honeybees. Her 2009 book, Charles and Emma: The Darwins Leap of Faith was nominated as a National Book Award Finalist. More >>
Deborah Hopkinson
Deborah Hopkinson introduces readers to people, places, and times that are both well and little known. The one thing her stories — real, imagined and sometimes both — have in common is that are sure to entertain, engage, and inspire as they hold truths for contemporary readers. More >>
Kathleen Krull
Through solid research, lively writing, and juicy "gossip", Kathleen Krull transforms iconic figures from the past into real human beings. "We're all secretly People magazine readers at heart," she explains, "even though we might not admit it." More >>
Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry is the highly acclaimed author of more than 30 books for young people. Over the years, she has received numerous awards, including two Newbery Medals. Lowry has written such a wide range of books that her body of work cannot be categorized easily. More >>
David Lubar
David Lubar is the author of a variety of short stories and novels. This former video game programmer has connected with his adolescent audience through a shared love of adventure and explosions. More >>
Leonard Marcus
Not only is Leonard Marcus a children's book author, he is a noted historian and critic of the genre. His critically acclaimed books have looked at Caldecott winners, the history and impact of Golden Books, fantasy writers, and the lives of other children's authors including the influential Margaret Wise Brown. More >>
Patricia and Frederick McKissack
Patricia and Frederick McKissack are a writing duo that got their start when they decided they wanted to do something about the lack of children’s stories about African Americans. More >>
Linda Sue Park
Linda Sue Park is the Newbery Award-winning author of "A Single Shard." In this interview, Park compares writing to sports, questions animal sounds among different countries, and more! More >>
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson is the Newbery Medal award winning author of Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. In this exclusive interview, Paterson talks about her childhood, raising a family, the challenges of writing, and her favorite books. More >>
Rodman Philbrick
Rodman Philbrick writes great adventure stories with teens at the center. From The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds, a tale of the Donner Party told by a teen, to Freak the Mighty, a buddy story of two troubled misfits, young people will find relatable characters dealing with extraordinary circumstances. More >>
Tamora Pierce
Once a teacher introduced her to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tamora Pierce was hooked. Unlike a lot of science fiction and fantasy, Pierce's books, like Trickster's Queen and The Will of the Empress, include females characters who are fearless, bold, athletic creatures, not powerless victims. More >>
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Stewart and Riddell are the co-creators of great fantasy books like the Far-Flung Adventures series, which includes Fergus Crane (a Gold Smarties Prize Winner), Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper (both Silver Nestle Prize Winners). More >>
Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan is a father, former English teacher, and best-selling author. After winning major awards for his Tres Navarre adult mystery series, Riordan has quickly become one of the most popular writers for young people in the country. More >>
Pam Muñoz Ryan
From picture books to novels to nonfiction, Pam Muñoz Ryan writes a wide variety of books for young readers. Drawing from her diverse cultural background, Muñoz Ryan often writes about the Latino experience in the United States. Many of her books feature courageous female protagonists who defy the societal conventions of their time. More >>
Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick feels that his illustrations are more authentic when he immerses himself in his subject matter. For the picture book Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, Selznick spent six months in Washington, DC conducting research at libraries and museums. More >>
Neal Shusterman
Within a year of his college graduation, Neal Shusterman had landed both a book deal and a job working on a movie script. In this interview, Shusterman talks about his inspiration for writing, and shares an excerpt from one of his books. More >>
Jerry Spinelli
Jerry Spinelli still remembers the Sunday night when he was awakened by a phone call. His novel, Maniac Magee, had just won the 1991 Newbery Medal. Jerry and his wife, Eileen, were so excited that they stayed up all night. "Life hasn't been the same since," Spinelli recalls. More >>
R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine wrote humor and joke books until an editor asked him to write a young adult horror novel. After Blind Date became an instant best seller, Stine started a young adult horror series called Fear Street. More >>
Rosemary Wells
Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books, ranging from board books to young adult literature. She has won numerous awards, and has given young adult readers vivid historical fiction.
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Janet Wong
Janet Wong's career switch was so dramatic that she was featured on a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show. When Wong left her job as Director of Labor Relations at Universal Studios in Hollywood, she dreamed of becoming a children's book author. More >>
Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson tackles tough issues head-on: race relations, sexual preference, foster care, and incarceration are just some of the issues that her characters confront. More >>
Laurence Yep
Laurence Yep writes books that draw from his Chinese American background yet speak to common feelings and experiences. In this exclusive interview, Yep discusses his love for his work and the gratification of writing stories. More >>
Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen has written stories about toads in space, dinosaurs at bedtime, and much more. In this exclusive video interview, Jane Yolen recites the first poem she ever wrote and talks about how to encourage creative writing in kids. More >>
