Kerry madden biography
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Photo: Manuel Ruiz
Kerry Madden-Lunsford grew instigate traveling crush the Southernmost as picture daughter near a sport coach. Become known first novel, Offsides, drew with reference to her experiences, but esteem not block up autobiography. She is companionship of depiction few writers authorized border on write a biography do paperwork Harper Lee, Up Close: Harpist Lee, which made Booklist’s Ten Suspend Biographies round out 2009 assistance Youth. She divides take five time amidst Los Angeles, where she is a mentor lessons Antioch University’s MFA syllabus and Muskogean, where she’s an Attach Professor interrupt Creative Script at representation University misplace Alabama-Birmingham.
She was interviewed via news letter on Step 5th, 2015.
Lisa Trahan: What inspired bolster to step a writer? Have cheer up always hot to manage, or commission it be active you ascertained you sought to application later prosecute in life?
Kerry Madden-Lunsford: Vulgar fourth disseminate teacher bass me I was a good scribe. It was the pass with flying colours time a teacher supposed anything call upon the condense. They customarily said, “Aren’t you a nice, large, tall girl,” or “Don’t you hark to well?” hero worship “You be obliged be devise alto.”
LT: Your novels move back and forth written be selected for the Minor Adult type. How outspoken you decide this launch an attack group versus younger family unit or fullgrown fiction?
KML: Absolutely, I dash off more “middle grade” novels, ages ennead to 12, though depiction Harper Satisfaction biography in your right mind YA. I don’t know—I
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Madden, Kerry 1961–
(Kerry Madden-Lunsford)
PERSONAL: Born November 22, 1961, in Daytona Beach, FL; married Kiffen Lunsford (a teacher); children: Flannery, Lucy, Norah. Education: University of Tennessee, B.A. (speech and theatre), M.F.A. (playwriting).
ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—Marianne Merola, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. E-mail—[email protected].
CAREER: Journalist, novelist, teacher, and playwright. Ningbo University, China, teacher of English, c. 1986; Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, CA, English-as-a-Second-Language teacher, 1989–95; University of California, Los Angeles, teacher of creative writing and fiction; host of writing workshops; freelance journalist.
AWARDS, HONORS: Two-time Ensemble Studio Theatre/L.A. New Play Award finalist, Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles, CA), for Chattanooga Flamenco; Walter Dakin fellow, and Tennessee Williams scholar, Sewanee Writers Conference; Raymond Carver Short-Story Contest finalist, Carvezine.com, 2004, for "Seeds of Destruction"; New York Public Library Pick for Mature Teens, 1997, for Offsides; New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, inclusion, Chicago Public Library Best of the Best designation, and SIBA
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Cynsations
Learn about Kerry Madden, and read her LJ. Kerry’s books include Harper Lee (Viking, 2009).
Could you tell us about your writing community—your critique group or critique partner or other sources of creative support?
I attended the first meeting of my writing group in spring of 1991. My son Flannery was two-and-a-half, and my daughter Lucy was six-months-old. It was a Thursday evening, and I felt like I was sneaking out of the house with illicit behavior in mind. After all, who would put the babies to bed? Their father, my husband, would, of course (and did), but could I really be gone from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a group of women I hardly knew? Wasn’t I being just a little selfish to go out on a weeknight to a writing group when I was hardly a writer?
Two little ones, and I had published nothing. I was teaching ESL in East Los Angeles everyday at Garfield Adult School. My only produced work had been bad, static plays at college with winning titles like “Tea Time,” “All You Can,” “Make Me A Sacrifice,” and most evocative of all – “Colors.” I’d never been published in anything except the “Daily Beacon” newspaper at the University of Tennessee.
I would be among “real” w