Monday, June 9, 2008
Last updated: Monday June 9, 2008, EDT 8:24 AM
BY EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER
Left: photo by staff photographer Tariq Zehawi.As a teenager in Georgia, Leigh-Anne Kidwell loved to read. She knew what she liked – Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" was her favorite — and she dabbled in writing short stories and poems.
Blume was her hero, but Kidwell never thought she could be "that person."
"I did not seek out writing as a career," said Kidwell, who now lives in Mahwah. "Because it wasn't touchable."
Fast-forward to her 30s. Now a published author of two books for the tween and teen sets (ages 9 to 15), Kidwell teaches creative writing. Her mission: to show kids that their dreams of becoming writers are within reach.
"I want to let them know, 'You can do this,' " she said. "... There are a lot great young authors out there."
Kidwell will be reading from her books, 2005's "The Year I Lost My Popularity" and 2006's "Summer Vineyard," at the Mahwah Public Library on Tuesday afternoon. She also will be signing up students for a free once-a-week writing workshop at the library during July.
The workshop is a version of a program Kidwell created in Tennessee, where she and her family lived until a year and a half ago. Unlike most creative writing classes, which focus on generating finished stories, Kidwell also teaches kids how to get published.
"There are many avenues they actually can go through at their age to get their work in print," she said.
Kidwell deviated from the writer's path for about 15 years — through college and then 10 years in the fashion merchandising industry — before she finally sat down again and put pen to paper.
And when Kidwell sat down at the drawing board for her first book, she set tweens in her sights.
"I call it the innocent before the trouble," said Kidwell of the middle-school years. "... It's when I started knowing about the reading world and was reading books all the time."
It was also when her world changed. At 13, Kidwell's family moved to a different town in Georgia, and the experience stuck with her. Her first book, "The Year I Lost My Popularity," is loosely based on her own process of fitting in at a new school.
But the appeal of middle-grade books isn't limited to kids the same age as the protagonists, Kidwell added.
In fact, the fans tend to be much younger.
"When they're 9, they're thinking about being 13," she said. Kidwell is writing a third novel, "The Power of Three," which chronicles the troubled friendship of three teenage girls. Her life as a full-time mother of a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old provides ample inspiration.
"I go to the mall or the park, and I hear teenagers talk," she said. "I listen to my baby sitters. In my workshops, I like to have students treat me as one of them as much as possible."
Blume was her hero, but Kidwell never thought she could be "that person."
"I did not seek out writing as a career," said Kidwell, who now lives in Mahwah. "Because it wasn't touchable."
Fast-forward to her 30s. Now a published author of two books for the tween and teen sets (ages 9 to 15), Kidwell teaches creative writing. Her mission: to show kids that their dreams of becoming writers are within reach.
"I want to let them know, 'You can do this,' " she said. "... There are a lot great young authors out there."
Kidwell will be reading from her books, 2005's "The Year I Lost My Popularity" and 2006's "Summer Vineyard," at the Mahwah Public Library on Tuesday afternoon. She also will be signing up students for a free once-a-week writing workshop at the library during July.
The workshop is a version of a program Kidwell created in Tennessee, where she and her family lived until a year and a half ago. Unlike most creative writing classes, which focus on generating finished stories, Kidwell also teaches kids how to get published.
"There are many avenues they actually can go through at their age to get their work in print," she said.
Kidwell deviated from the writer's path for about 15 years — through college and then 10 years in the fashion merchandising industry — before she finally sat down again and put pen to paper.
And when Kidwell sat down at the drawing board for her first book, she set tweens in her sights.
"I call it the innocent before the trouble," said Kidwell of the middle-school years. "... It's when I started knowing about the reading world and was reading books all the time."
It was also when her world changed. At 13, Kidwell's family moved to a different town in Georgia, and the experience stuck with her. Her first book, "The Year I Lost My Popularity," is loosely based on her own process of fitting in at a new school.
But the appeal of middle-grade books isn't limited to kids the same age as the protagonists, Kidwell added.
In fact, the fans tend to be much younger.
"When they're 9, they're thinking about being 13," she said. Kidwell is writing a third novel, "The Power of Three," which chronicles the troubled friendship of three teenage girls. Her life as a full-time mother of a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old provides ample inspiration.
"I go to the mall or the park, and I hear teenagers talk," she said. "I listen to my baby sitters. In my workshops, I like to have students treat me as one of them as much as possible."
Smooth jazz legend Chuck Mangione had two dreams as a youngster: playing for the Yankees and playing for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
