Literary Birthday – 29 June – Alice Kuipers

Happy Birthday, Alice Kuipers, born on 29 June 1979.

Alice Kuipers Quotes

1. [Where do you get your ideas?] Everywhere—conversations I overhear, my kids’ questions, something odd on a walk, a sentence in a book that sparks a thought… Ideas show up when I pay attention. (FAQs)
2. I wish I could say I light a candle and meditate, but honestly? I open my laptop, put on a playlist, and start typing—even when I don’t feel ready. The ritual is simply beginning. (FAQs)
3. [What’s on your writing desk?] A cup of coffee that goes cold too fast, a stack of books, kid stuff—their crafts and forms for school—and a multicoloured pen! (FAQs)
4. Life on the Refrigerator Door is about running out of time. The idea to use notes was one that had been playing around in my head for months, but it wasn’t until that sense of urgency informed the story that I realized the form made sense. Form has to have a function too—I couldn’t just use notes because I wanted to use notes, I realized. They needed to be part of the fabric of the story. (Room Magazine)
5. I have become efficient at writing in the spare minutes between things—I was waiting at the physiotherapist’s today and I wrote 300 words on a new idea I have. Who knows if it’ll ever work out. (Room Magazine)
6. Plotting and outlining is something I’d love to have a better handle on. (Room Magazine)
7. My tips for anyone who is wanting to write is to read, read, read. If you find yourself drawn to crime fiction, then you might find you want to write it. Don’t start writing it because you think it’s an easy way to break into writing. No genre of writing is easy if you’re not passionate about it, as with every story, you have to want to tell it. (Room Magazine)
8. A book can take years to write, so you need to be able to make that commitment to a subject you love. Think about plotting and outline. Carefully laid clues and hints are deeply satisfying to a reader. (Room Magazine)
9. After 14 published books and thousands of hours teaching, writing and coaching, I’ve finally reached a place where urgency no longer dominates my writing life. Now, I focus on the story itself — even if it takes years. (The Publishing Spectrum)

Alice Kuipers is the bestselling, award-winning British author of fifteen books for young adults and children, published in thirty-six countries. Alice’s debut novel, Life on the Refrigerator Door, is an award-winning Young Adult/Adult crossover published to rave reviews in 28 countries and told entirely in post-it notes written by a mother and her daughter.  She is Head of Coaching at The Novelry, and she writes Confessions & Coffee, a weekly Substack about books, flow, and the art of paying attention. She is currently at work on an adult mystery novel focused on fractured relationships, long-held secrets, and the moment when a community is forced to tell the truth about itself. She lives with her partner Yann Martel in Saskatoon. Follow her on Instagram.

Source for photograph: Press Kit

by Amanda Patterson
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