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| Erin Entrada Kelly (photo: Matt Godfrey) |
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Erin Entrada Kelly is now a two-time Newbery Medalist and National Book Award finalist whose work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She teaches in the Master's Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University and lives in Delaware. She won the Newbery Medal in 2018 for her novel Hello, Universe. Her second Newbery win--for The First State of Being (Greenwillow Books)--was announced yesterday at the American Library Association's winter conference.
Not only is this your second Newbery Medal win, but this book, The First State of Being, was a National Book Award finalist. How are you feeling today? Is today going a lot like that day in 2018 went?
To be honest, I still haven't completely recovered from the shock of 2018 so consider me double shocked. It's difficult to find adequate words.
I was so excited when I first heard about this book. There's a ton of contemporary fantasy and horror for young readers right now but not a lot of sci-fi. What drew you to this genre?
My goal is to push myself with every project I write and I'm a big fan of science fiction--specifically time travel--so it seemed like a natural progression.
How do you describe The First State of Being to readers?
A story of time travel, friendship, found family, and first loves.
What excited you about writing a book with a Y2K focus?
When I wrote We Dream of Space, I was keenly aware that most young readers wouldn't be familiar with the Challenger disaster. That's partly why I wanted to write it. The Challenger disaster was a monumental event and deserves to live in modern memory. I felt similarly about Y2K. I was a journalist during the Y2K crisis. It dominated the news cycle and there was incredible anxiety about it, but it's all been lost to time. I wanted to remind readers that this event happened, that it created a lot of anguish, and we made it through--just like we'll make it through the crises of today.
Was playing around with time travel difficult? Did you ever get stuck in arguments with yourself about what could or couldn't happen within time travel rules?
Here's the thing with time travel: If you think about it too long, you will exhaust yourself with the possibilities and impossibilities. I had a clear vision of how I would tackle time travel before I started writing because I didn't want to stumble on all those questions. I also chose to explore those questions as part of the narrative.
In our review of The First State of Being, our reviewer called Michael "one of the kindest boys in children's literature." Would you tell us a bit about writing this protagonist? Did you have a specific aim for his characterization before you began writing him?
I love that you mentioned that line because I was so thrilled when I read it! It's probably my favorite line out of any review I've ever received, because I love Michael so much. When early reviews trickled in, I was delighted to see reviewers' appreciation for Michael. Characters are everything to me--they're what I focus on more than anything. I can't start a book unless I have a clear vision of the main character. My goal is to know my characters better than they know themselves. When that happens, I start writing.
"The first state of being" is a magnificent phrase--how did you come up with it as being The Thing that matters in life?
Thank you! The phrase is actually a shout-out to Delaware, which is the first state. It's on all the license plates here.
Who are you hoping reads this book? What would you like them to take away with them?
My goal is always the same, with every book: I want readers to feel less alone.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I'm always working on something. I've been writing nonstop since I was eight years old, and that's not an exaggeration! Ha.
I have four books releasing this year: On Again, Awkward Again, a young adult rom-com co-written with Kwame Mbalia from Amulet Books; At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom, my first work of nonfiction; and Your Turn, Marisol Rainey, the next book in my Marisol Rainey books, which I also illustrate (both with Greenwillow Books); and a horror novel with Scholastic. I'm also co-writing a technology horror series with Eliot Schrefer, which will release with Sourcebooks next year.