Literary Birthday – 7 May – Deborah Wiles

Happy Birthday, Deborah Wiles, born on 7 May 1953.

Deborah Wiles Quotes

1. The secret to not being afraid is to understand what scares you.
2. There are always scary things happening in the world. There are always wonderful things happening. And it’s up to you to decide how you’re going to approach the world…how you’re going to live in it, and what you’re going to do.
3. My books are all personal narrative turned into fiction. (FAQs)
4. I take what I know and remember, mix it up with how I felt, and imagine that into a story. I always keep a notebook with me, and use it daily – I put everything in it, even my grocery lists. You never know what will turn into a story. (FAQs)
5. This is how it works. Everything is connected. Every choice matters. Every person is vital, and valuable, and worthy of respect.
6. I figured out how to write books a little bit at a time. I read a lot. I modeled my writing after the stories I admired. (FAQs)
7. A hero can be afraid, but a hero never runs away.
8. Life is full of surprises, but the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.
9. I think it’s best to read a book and decide about themes for yourself, although I can tell you that, in general, every book I’ve written is about friendship and family — kinship. I write about community, and how important love is, how essential kindness is, and how we are all connected. (FAQs)
10. I learned to write by reading and practicing. I am still reading and practicing, still learning. (FAQs)

Deborah Wiles is an award-winning American author known for several highly acclaimed books. These include the beloved Love, Ruby Lavender and two National Book Award finalists—Each Little Bird That Sings and Revolution. Her debut picture book, Freedom Summer, received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She has also been recognised as a finalist for the NAACP Image Award and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and is a recipient of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award and the Golden Kite Award. In addition, she received a PEN Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. Her most recent novel for young adults is Kent State. Visit her on Instagram.

Image: Slowking4, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deborah_wiles_5213032.jpg

by Amanda Patterson

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