Meg Medina grew up in a Cuban-American household dominated by strong women, notably her mother and aunts. She was a self-described "wild child" who loved to run and play, but was equally drawn to the quiet pleasures of reading.
"Story is what attracted me," Medina recalls. "My mother and aunts told a lot of stories because it was an oral tradition in my house. But it translated easily to a thirst for the tale."
That thirst has led Medina to a remarkable 16-year career writing for young people. Over the course of 14 publications that include picture books, novels, and easy-read biographies of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and author Pura Belpré, she has left an indelible mark as the understanding voice of the Latino childhood experience.
Medina received the 2019 John Newbery Medal for Merci Suárez Changes Gears, about a strongwilled sixth-grader facing challenges and change, and currently is visiting schools and libraries around the country as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador of Young People's Literature, sponsored by the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader.
Growing up in culturally diverse Queens, N.Y., in the 1970s, Medina was encouraged to read by her mother and found herself drawn to strong female characters like Nancy Drew. "I liked the mystery element, but what I really loved about Nancy Drew was the feminist element," she explains. "Nancy had her own car, and no adult doubted she could solve a crime or take down a criminal. That felt very freeing." But while Medina enjoyed such tales, she was disappointed to find that the majority of the books in her school library were "solidly white middle-class, a problem that has endured over the decades."
THE POWER OF A TEACHER'S WORDS
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2024-utgaven av Writer’s Digest.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Writing for a Warming World - Imagining the overwhelming, the ubiquitous, the world-shattering.
Climate change is one of those topics that can throw novelists—and everyone else—into a fearful and cowering silence. When the earth is losing its familiar shapes and consolations, changing drastically and in unpredictable ways beneath our feet, how can we summon our creative resources to engage in the imaginative world-building required to write a novel that takes on these threats in compelling ways? And how to avoid writing fiction that addresses irreversible climate change without letting our prose get too preachy, overly prescriptive, saturated with despair?
Kids' Author Meg Medina Inspires Readers
WD chats with the National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature.
The Horrors of Grief
Whether hot off the presses or on the shelves for years, a good book is worth talking about.
The Mystery of Growing Up
New York Times-bestselling author Jasmine Warga tackles a new genre with her signature blend of empathy for her readers, agency for her characters, and the belief that art is the great connector.
Education
Even if it's not your thing, you're probably familiar with the term dark academia.
A Do-Over Romance
Karin Patton, the first-place winner of the 24th Annual Writer's Digest Short Short Story Awards, shares a funny story about secondchance love and a brief Q&A.
Everyday Wonder
How to mine awe from the mundane
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Unveil the hidden beauty in the facts and transform your nonfiction with the power of wonder.
Childhood: Our Touchstone for Wonder
How to get in touch with Little You and create big new work for today.
Agent Roundup
22 agents share details, about what kind of writing will pique their interest and offer tips for querying writers...
