Welcome to our #LevelUp2021 Author Spotlight Series! We’re thrilled to feature 4 incredibly talented authors from our first National K-12 Summer Reading Challenge, sponsored by Thorndike Press and Mark Cuban.
This week, we’ve interviewed Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, two-time Newbery Honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fighting Words, The War I Finally Won, The War That Saved My Life, and many more critically-acclaimed middle grade novels and picture books.
Check out our interview with her below, and learn more about her work here! You can also follow Kimberly on Twitter.
What are you currently reading?
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green.
Where is your favorite place to read?
The back porch of our home in the North Carolina mountains.
What is your favorite thing you've written? Book or otherwise!
Fighting Words.
What's your favorite childhood book?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
What is your favorite word and why?
“Summertime.” I love the sound, and I love the season.
What time of day do you usually like to write?
Mornings!
If you could have coffee (or beverage of choice!) with any author, who would it be?
Right now, Beverly Cleary. I would have said Katherine Paterson, but I've gotten to do that.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? And/or how did you become a writer?
I think I always wanted to. It was college before I knew it was possible. I wrote things, and kept working to write better.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring writer, what would it be?
Write things, and keep working to write them better. Persistence matters more than any other thing.
What is your favorite thing about summer?
I live on a farm. I love the scent of honeysuckle in the air, and I love the barn swallows that swoop in circles around me when I ride through the fields.
Why is it important for readers to know that books are formatted in large print? And/or how important is format when it comes to putting your books out in the world?
Because some readers will have a much easier time with larger print, for many different reasons. I'm grateful for all the formats - large print and audio as well as standard - that increase readers' access to my stories.
Stay tuned for future Thorndike Press author spotlights throughout #LevelUp2021, and encourage your community to keep reading!