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Kate DiCamillo Celebrates Librarians
I met Kate DiCamillo during the summer of 2000 in Minneapolis, MN. She was still enjoying her experience at ALA where she signed her new book Because of Winn-Dixie. Since then Kate has garnered much praise for her work including a Newbery honor and I am sure that she is still very much aglow.
Having grown up in Florida, her first winters in Minnesota were hard. Kate wondered what she had done and was homesick for the warmth and sunshine. You might wonder what made her move North (she broke up with a boyfriend and wanted to go to a new place). She had the good fortune to live in an apartment that doesn't allow dogs, but Kate loves dogs and she kept hearing a voice in her head. It was a dog called Winn-Dixie.
Previous to her book, Kate had published short stories and these were mostly for adults. She won an award from the McKnight Foundation which offers grants to writers and the money allowed her to by a computer. Kate also worked for a bookseller and her work picking books and packing them reawakened her interest in children's books. She started reading and then tried her hand at picture books - "very difficult" she noted. The bookseller hosted an open house and she met a sales rep from Candlewick and learned that they only take agented material. The rep did take her manuscript and got it to an editor, and the book bubbled up within the organization. In 1998 it was accepted for publication and Kate got a contract. Two revisions later (not major), the book came out in March 2000. It began getting excellent reviews. At the time we met, Kate was still working at a bookstore and working at her writing every day. She writes in the morning. She remarked that the guidance from her editors was a great help and it really helped build her confidence.
Kate has a deep and abiding fondness for librarians - "they are wonderful, they gave me books and made recommendations and urged me to read, read, read." When asked if she could have $500 million, but could never read another book, she chose books. "Life without books is meaningless, they are light in the darkness."
Click here for more about Kate DiCamillo and her books.
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