Scholastic’s Andrea Davis Pinkney
by Alexie Basil
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Why do authors write? The possible answers are as diverse as the writers themselves. While celebrating the accomplishments of The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins at the 2016 Authors Guild gala held in New York City, several children’s and YA authors took to the stage and shared their answers to this burning question: Why do authors write?
Andrea Davis Pinkney delivered a powerful and captivating performance sharing who motivates her pen. And it might just be someone you know!
Ever-gracious and always generous with her time and incredible talent, Andrea was also happy to let us record her moving piece, aptly titled “Why I Write,” so we could share it with you here.
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By day, Andrea Davis Pinkney is the Vice President, Executive Editor of trade books at Scholastic. And by night, she is a prolific children’s book author with numerous bestsellers and accolades, including winning the prestigious Coretta Scott King Author Award and being named one of “The 25 Most Influential People in Our Children’s Lives” by Children’s Health magazine. Some of her many notable titles include: The Red Pencil, Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, and Bird in a Box.
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A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day will be available from Scholastic Reading Club in December 2016 in our We Need Diverse Books catalog.