David Levithan

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David Levithan
David Levithan 2018.jpg
Levithan at the 2018 Texas Teen Book Festival
Born (1972-09-07) September 7, 1972 (age 51)
Short Hills, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationWriter, editor
NationalityAmerican
Education Double major in English and Political Science
Alma mater Brown University
Period2003–present
Genre Young adult fiction; fantasy, supernatural fiction
Notable works
Notable awardsLambda Literary Award
2003 Boy Meets Boy
Lambda Literary Award
2006 The Full Spectrum
Signature
David Levithan's signature.svg
Website
davidlevithan.com

David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor. [1] He has written numerous works featuring strong male gay characters, most notably Boy Meets Boy and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List . [2] Six of Levithan's books have won or been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making him the most celebrated author in the category.

Contents

Early life and career

Levithan was born and raised in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey, to a family of Jewish background, [3] graduating in 1990 from Millburn High School. [4] At nineteen, Levithan received an internship at Scholastic Corporation where he began working on The Baby-Sitters Club series. Levithan still works for Scholastic as an editorial director. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a young-adult imprint of Scholastic Press focusing on new voices and new authors. [1] PUSH publishes edgier material for young adults and is where Patricia McCormick got her start with 2002's Cut. [5]

In an interview with Barnes & Noble, Levithan said that he learned how to write books that were both funny and touching from Judith Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day . He continues to work as both a writer and editor saying, "I love editing just as much, if not more than writing". [5]

Three of Levithan's novels have been made into films. His first collaboration with Rachel Cohn, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist , was published in 2006 and adapted for the big screen in 2008. Levithan's 2012 novel of the same name was adapted into Every Day , a romantic fantasy drama, released in 2018. His second collaboration with Rachel Cohn, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, was published in 2007 and adapted into a film of the same name in 2015.

Levithan has been a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey. [6]

In 2016, Levithan won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for The Realm of Possibility, Boy Meets Boy, Love Is the Higher Law, How They Met and Other Stories, Wide Awake, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. [7]

Works

Novels

Young adult novels

Disaster Zone series:

  1. In the Eye of the Tornado (1998)
  2. In the Heart of the Quake (1998)

Likely Story series (with David Ozanich and Chris Van Etten; as David Van Etten):

  1. Likely Story (2008)
  2. All That Glitters (2008)
  3. Red Carpet Riot (2009)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson series:

  1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson (2010), with John Green
  2. Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story (2015)

Dash & Lily series, with Rachel Cohn:

  1. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (2010)
  2. The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily (2016)
  3. Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily (2020)

Every Day series:

  1. Every Day (2012)
  2. Another Day (2015)
  3. Someday (2018)

Stand-alones:

Young adult short stories

Collections:

Uncollected short stories:

Comics

Non-fiction

Anthologies and novels edited

Novelizations

Adaptations

Further reading

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References

  1. 1 2 "David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. Contemporary Authors Online. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009.
  2. "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List". www.goodreads.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2014-07-03.
  3. "JBooks.com - Interviews and Profiles: David Levithan: "Teen Literature Kicks Ass"". jbooks.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  4. DeSisto, Danielle. "Author advocates for love, acceptance through books" Archived 2021-04-11 at the Wayback Machine , The Item of Millburn and Short Hills, June 14, 2016. Accessed March 8, 2021. "His career in literature began at age 19 as an intern for Scholastic, not long after graduating from Millburn High School in 1990."
  5. 1 2 Friedman, Robin. "The write stuff". New Jersey Jewish News (Whippany). July 2, 2009.
  6. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Archived 2016-01-27 at the Wayback Machine , Random House. Accessed October 6, 2015. "He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey."
  7. NGILBERT (23 January 2017). "2016 Edwards Award". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  8. Silvera, Adam (2021-02-27). "Out of the Wardrobe". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  9. 10 Things I Hate About You. New York: Scholastic. ISBN   0439087309