John Donovan | |
---|---|
Born | 1928 Lynn, Massachusetts |
Died | April 29, 1992 New York City |
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Young adult literature, drama |
Notable works | I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip |
Website | |
johndonovanauthor |
John Donovan (1928 - April 29, 1992) was an American writer of young adult literature. [1] He is best known for his 1969 novel I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip , the first known young adult novel to directly address the subject of homosexuality. [2]
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Donovan was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia. [1] He worked for the copyright office of the Library of Congress before briefly joining St. Martin's Press. [1]
Donovan published his first work as a writer, The Little Orange Book, in 1961. [3]
In 1967, he became executive director of the Children's Book Council, [1] a position he held until his death. [3] In this position, he actively advocated for literature that addressed real life issues faced by children and teenagers. [3]
I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip was named, in 2021, as one of Time magazine's "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time." [4]
Donovan's later children's and young adult books included Wild in the World, Good Old James and Family. [1] He also wrote two short plays, Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara and All My Pretty Ones, which were published in 1963 and staged off-Broadway in 1964 under the collective title Riverside Drive. [1] The play's staging at New York City's Theatre de Lys starred Sylvia Sidney and Donald Woods. [3]
Donovan's longtime partner was Stan Raiff, a theatre producer. [2] The couple lived in Manhattan. [1]
Donovan died on April 29, 1992, of cancer. [1] His niece Stacey Donovan, also a published author known for the novel Dive [5] , was the executor of his estate, and was involved in the 2010 republication of I'll Get There. [2]
I'll Get There was the subject of an essay by Martin Wilson in the 2010 book The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered . [6]
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