Discovering America's Past through Historical Fiction

Author Elizabeth Winthrop

Our first featured guest in the Historical Fiction Series that will be running for the next eight weeks, is Elizabeth Winthrop, a veteran author with over fifty works of fiction! 

I first met Elizabeth when we were both presenters at the Hodge-Podge Conference in Albany, New York a number of years ago now. I decided to sit in on her presentation and was delighted and enthralled by her stories of childhood. For me, Elizabeth's life was exactly what I had imagined, as a young reader, an author's life should be. I was charmed by her storybook world, and I'm pleased to be sharing her life and work with all of you!

Dear Readers, Please welcome award winning author Elizabeth Winthrop and her featured book, Counting on Grace!  

Interview with Author Elizabeth Winthrop

What or whom were the early influences that inspired you to become a writer?

My father was a journalist who worked at home.  Every day, when I opened the kitchen door, fresh off the bus from school, the first sound I heard was the banging of his old Underwood typewriter keys.  He had a sign on his door which read, PLEASE DON'T KNOCK UNLESS YOU'RE BLEEDING.  This was to keep me and my five brothers out of his hair.  That was my earliest influence... to have a working writer for a father who was self-disciplined and who loved what he did.

My grandmother also encouraged me to write, in contrast to the dour nuns at school who taught me that grammar should be more important than the love of reading or the musical poetry of language.  I had enough influences at home to counter those dictums, thank heavens.

When did you first know that you wanted to write children's books? 

My senior year in college.  I went to Sarah Lawrence where I was allowed to major in writing starting in  freshman year.  I studied with the likes of Grace Paley, E.L. Doctorow and Jane Cooper.  I wrote a large pile of short stories, mostly about experiences I knew nothing about.   Jane wisely pointed this out to me. She noticed that the children in my stories rang very true and steered me in that direction.  When I graduated from college, I worked as an editorial assistant in the Harper and Row Childrens Book department under the legendary Ursula Nordstrom.  From then on, my fate was sealed. My first boss, Nina Ignatowicz, became my editor.

Do you have a favorite book from childhood?

 THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Tell us a little about your writing process.

Character and setting are both crucial to my fiction.  If I don't feel I know a character well enough, then I often write a diary in her voice to dig deeper into what makes her tick.  Or him.   And I need to know where that person lives.  In Counting on Grace, I deliberately picked a mill near where I live in the summer so that I could walk in Grace's footsteps as often as I needed to.  In The Castle in the Attic,  the attic itself is the one in my grandmother's house in Connecticut where I spent many childhood hours.  

Do you write for other audiences?

Yes, I've published two novels for adults, In My Mother's House  and Island Justice.  And I am currently at work on a personal history, the story of my parents' love affair in London during World War II.

Is it difficult to switch back and forth between writing for children and writing for adults?

It's a matter of voice.  I hear a different voice in my head when I'm writing for adults and when I'm writing for children.  And point of view.  In a children's book, you stay very tightly in the protagonist's head.  It keeps you from getting preachy and moralizing.

I'm glad that I can switch back and forth.  When I've been working on a novel for two years, I like being able to write a picture book for young children that might be finished in a week or sometimes, rarely in a couple of days.  Picture books bring me back to language and poetry, the short novels for children force me to focus on plot.  All of these tools are of course, vital when I work on fiction for adults.  It's all writing.  Librarians and booksellers need to slot the books into different age groups so they know where to shelve the books.  I don't.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Read, read, read.  And designate a time in each day when you are nothing but a writer.  Turn off all the gadgets that so easily distract us these days and sink into your writing self.  There's no other way that I know of to keep the inner stream flowing. Honor that writer within you with uninterrupted time and with a place, even if it's the corner of the kitchen or a table in a local coffee shop.

ELIZABETH WINTHROP is the author of over fifty works of fiction for all ages. Her most recent historical novel, COUNTING ON GRACE was chosen as a Notable Book of the Year by the American Library Association, the National Council of Social Studies, the International Reading Association and the Children’s Book Council and was nominated for state book awards in Vermont, Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Hawaii and Arizona.

Ms. Winthrop is the daughter of the late Stewart Alsop, the political journalist.  She divides her time between New York City and the Berkshires. She is currently at work on a memoir. Learn more about the author here: www.elizabethwinthrop.com

The featured selection for this series, "Discovering America's Past" is Ms. Winthrop's most recent historical work of fiction, Counting on Grace. A teaching guide for the book is available on her web-site: www.elizabethwinthrop.com [Find by clicking on TEACHERS on the menu bar] Read below for what reviewer's say about this important book!

Counting on Grace 

To purchase:  http://amzn.to/eGYzzZ 

"Winthrop's compelling story vividly captures the mill experience.  Much information on early photography and the workings of the textile mills is conveyed, and history and fiction are woven seamlessly together in this beautifully written novel. Readers won't soon forget Grace." -Starred Review, School Library Journal

"The most compelling thread of the novel chronicles the mounting tension between Grace and her demanding mother who dominates the other workers. This enlightening novel explores the perils of mill work for children and adults alike.  Readers will cheer the feisty heroine when Grace uses her smarts to triumph."      -Publishers Weekly

AWARDS and HONORS for COUNTING ON GRACE

*ALA Notable Book

*Notable Trade Book in Social Studies

*IRA-CBC Children's Choice Selection

*NCTE Notable Book for a Global Society

*Jane Addams Peace Prize Honor Book et al

Elizabeth has generously donated an autographed hardcover copy of Counting on Grace. As always, for a chance to win, all you have to do is stop by and leave a comment on this post and/or the follow-up post next week when Elizabeth will share the story behind the book and insights into the research process involved in uncovering Grace's story.  The winner will be chosen by random.org on Valentine's Day!