Pep Talks

Gennifer Albin is the author of Crewel, which she wrote during NaNoWriMo 2010. Previously, she was an academic with a specialization in 18th century women's studies. Gennifer lives in Kansas with her husband, two children, and cat.

Ally Carter is the author of the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in the agricultural industry. Ally was born, raised, and still lives in Oklahoma.

Read Ally's pep talk.

Julie Cross is the author of Tempest. She taught gymnastics for 15 years before realizing her love of writing. Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children.

Read Julie's pep talk.

Kate DiCamillo is the author of The Tale of Despereaux (Newbery Medal), Because of Winn-Dixie (Newbery Honor), and a The Tiger Rising (National Book Award finalist). She lives in Minneapolis, MN with her dog Henry.

Read Kate's pep talk.

Lois Lowry is the author of Number the Stars and The Giver (both Newbery Medal winners), among 30 other books for children and young adults. She lives in Cambridge, MA in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Alfie and a funny little cat named Lulu.

Read Lois's pep talk.

Wendy Mass is the author of The Candymakers, 11 Birthdays, and 13 Gifts, plus several more young adult novels. She tells people her hobbies are hiking and photography, but really they're collecting candy bar wrappers and searching for buried treasure with her metal detector.

Read Wendy's pep talk.

Marissa Meyer is the author of Cinder, which she wrote during NaNoWriMo 2008. Her early writing included over forty Sailor Moon fanfics under the pen name Alicia Blade. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and three cats.

Read Marissa's pep talk.

Walter Dean Myers is the author of Monster (Printz Award and National Book Award finalist), Fallen Angels, and Slam, among 80 other books for children and young adults. In 2012, he was named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Read Walter's pep talk.

Ransom Riggs is the author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a novel illustrated with found photographs. He's a filmmaker and a photographer, too, though he's convinced he'll never take a picture to rival some of those he's found at flea markets. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Read Ransom's pep talk.

Scott Westerfeld is the author of the Uglies, Leviathan, and Midnighters series. He has also been an occasional ghostwriter, which is like driving someone else's car really, really fast for lots of money. Scott piles up plenty of frequent flyer miles as he splits his time between New York, NY and Sydney, Australia.

Read Scott's pep talk.

John Corey Whaley is the author of Where Things Come Back (Printz Award). When he was around 10 or 11 years old, he wrote about aliens and underwater civilizations, but now he writes realistic YA fiction (which sometimes includes zombies).

Read John's pep talk.

2011

Ally Condie – Pep Talk

Gayle Forman – Pep Talk

Varian Johnson – Pep Talk

Robert Lipsyte – Pep Talk

Lauren Oliver – Pep Talk

Christopher Paolini – Pep Talk

Mitali Perkins – Pep Talk

Beth Revis – Pep Talk

Caissie St. Onge – Pep Talk

2010

Jessica Burkhart – Pep Talk

Nancy Yi Fan – Pep Talk

John Green – Pep Talk

D.J. MacHale – Pep Talk

Megan McCafferty – Pep Talk

Kaleb Nation – Pep Talk

Robyn Schneider – Pep Talk

Sherwood Smith – Pep Talk

2009

Laurie Halse Anderson – Pep Talk

Avi – Pep Talk

Cherith Baldry – Pep Talk

Kate Cary – Pep Talk

Esmé Raji Codell – Pep Talk

Margaret Haddix – Pep Talk

Vicky Holmes – Pep Talk

Rafe Martin – Pep Talk

2008

Hilari Bell – Pep Talk

Rosemary Clement-Moore – Pep Talk

Gordon Korman – Pep Talk

Nancy Etchemendy – Pep Talk

Esther M. Friesner – Pep Talk

Cathy Hopkins – Pep Talk

Sue Limb – Pep Talk

Kathryn Reiss – Pep Talk

Laurel Snyder – Pep Talk

Jerry Spinelli – Pep Talk

Suzanne Fisher Staples – Pep Talk

Ysabeau Wilce – Pep Talk

Markus Zusak – Pep Talk