Gayle Forman
Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay
E. Lockhart
New York Times-bestselling author of We Were Liars
Photo credit: Heather Weston
E. Lockhart is the author of the New York Times-bestselling We Were Liars, which has been published in 33 countries. She is also the author of the National Book Award finalist The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and the New York Times bestseller and LA Times Book Prize finalist Genuine Fraud. Lockhart's young-adult novels are feminist and socially conscious. She is a frequent speaker at schools and libraries.
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About E. Lockhart
E. Lockhart is the author of 10 novels, including We Were Liars, which was a break-out success and instant New York Times bestseller upon publication in 2014. The novel was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2014, a Best YA Book of 2014 by Time, was the sole YA title to make it onto Amazon’s Best Books of the Year, Amazon’s #1 YA Book of the Year, the GoodReads Choice Best Young Adult Novel of 2014, a Kirkus Review Best Book of 2014, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2014.
Lockhart earned a doctorate in English literature at Columbia University before embarking on her writing career. She writes for younger readers under the name Emily Jenkins. A captivating storyteller, Lockhart lectures on techniques for writing fiction, gender and reading, books for young people and their function in society, and the power of unreliable narrators. Her wit and insight make her a popular choice for both adult and young adult audiences, as well as for libraries and community reads programs.
Lockhart’s novel The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks won a Michael L. Printz Honor Award and was a National Book Award finalist. Its feminist themes have led Lockhart to speak about gender politics to groups of girls across the country. Genuine Fraud was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and New York Times bestseller. Lockhart is also the author of Dramarama, Fly on the Wall, and the popular Ruby Oliver series, which begins with the novel The Boyfriend List.
She resides in Brooklyn and shares her office space with a maniac cat.
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Speaking Topics
In Praise of Style: Artifice, Punctuation, and Other Rogue Techniques of World-Building
An analysis of how certain writers build compelling fictional words using playful or aggressively stylized language and formats, even in popular fiction, and how to be experimental without becoming gimmicky. Lockhart discusses works by Markus Zusak, Walter Dean Meyers, Lauren Myracle, Neil Gaiman and many other great writers of children’s, adult and YA literature.
Escapism and Bibliotherapy
There are two primary ways people talk about books for children and young adults: as escapist, or as bibliotherapeutic. Lockhart debunks these categories and explains the dangers of thinking of literature for young readers as either candy or medicine. Including personal stories and without shying away from controversy, she puts forward new ways of thinking about kids and books.
Developing a Manuscript: Better Living though Technology
Lockhart talks about techniques for developing, editing and even reimagining a work of fiction using software beyond typical word processors — in particular, Scrivener and Final Draft.
How to Be Funny
Yes, you. Yes, really. Lockhart will show you.
Reading is a Political Issue
A discussion of assumptions we make about gender and reading in books for children and young adults — and analysis of what the consequences of those assumptions can be. Parents want to protect their children and encourage them to read. Educators want the same. Lockhart explains how these good intentions can end up perpetuating gender inequality.
Middle-School and High School Presentations
Lockhart presents to middle-school and high school students on techniques for creating compelling narratives — how everyday emotion can be translated into powerful poetry, fiction, song lyrics, comic strips, or film. She touches on her recent novels, but the focus is on giving students tools for making narrative art.
Anitheroes
When we talk about books for young people, we are very often talking about books that teach. The heroes of such books go on moral journeys that offer inspiration and hope to readers. What then, is the place of antihero stories in youth literature? Teenagers love villainous protagonists, but what are we to make of them, and can we understand them in a moral framework? Lockhart’s own Genuine Fraud is an antihero story, and she unpacks the appeal and the value of this kind of tale.
Finding Your Voice
FINDING YOUR VOICE
Lockhart runs creative writing workshops on tapping your unique voice as a storyteller.Categories: Bestselling Author Speakers, Young Adult Author Speakers -
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Praise for E. Lockhart
Praise for Genuine Fraud
This thriller from the author of We Were Liars (2014) will challenge preconceptions about identity and keep readers guessing.
— Kirkus Reviews, Starred ReviewAn excellent choice recommended for teens and adults who love twisty mysteries, stories about class conflict, and tough-as-nails teen girls.
— SLJ, Starred ReviewCaptivating . . . bewitching.
— Booklist, Starred ReviewA bracing pace, a slew of far-flung locations, and a storyline that runs mostly in reverse will keep readers on their toes, never entirely sure of what these girls are responsible for or capable of.
— Publishers Weekly, Starred ReviewPraise for We Were Liars
Irresistible premise for this ticking time bomb of a novel.
— New York Times Book ReviewLockhart has created a mystery with an ending most readers won’t see coming, one so horrific it will prompt some to return immediately to page one to figure out how they missed it. At the center of it is a girl who learns the hardest way of all what family means, and what it means to lose the one that really mattered to you.
— Publishers Weekly, starred reviewThrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart. We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable
— John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our StarsHaunting, sophisticated mystery...a novel so twisty and well-told that it will appeal to older readers as well as to adolescents
— The Wall Street Journal -
Books by E. Lockhart
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Featured Title
Genuine Fraud
"The appended note lists many inspirations for the novel. Indeed, “particular debt” is owed to Highsmith, but Lockhart’s command of structure, pacing, atmosphere, and character are accomplishments all this author’s own." —The Horn Book
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