KL Going | |
---|---|
Born | Kelly Louise Going August 21, 1973 Rhinebeck, New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Writer |
Period | 1973–present |
Genre | Fiction for children and young adults (YA fiction) |
Subject | author |
Notable awards | Michael L. Printz Award (Honor Book) |
Spouse | Dustin Adams |
Children | Ashton Paul |
Parents | William and Linda Going |
Website | |
klgoing |
KL Going (born August 21, 1973) [1] is an American writer of books for children and teens.
Her first novel, Fat Kid Rules the World , was named a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book [2] by the American Library Association, and was included on the Young Adult Library Services Association's Best Books for Young Adults list and its list of Best Books for the Past Decade.
Her books have been Booksense picks, Scholastic Book Club choices, Junior Library Guild selections, New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage, and winners of state book awards. They have been featured by Publishers Weekly , School Library Journal , Kirkus Reviews , and the Children's Book Council as best books of the year.
Her work has also been published in Korea, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and her novel Fat Kid Rules the World was adapted into a film. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and won an Audience Award.
Going began her career working at Curtis Brown, Ltd., one of the oldest literary agencies in New York City. She used this inner knowledge of publishing to write Writing and Selling the Young Adult Novel – a how-to book for aspiring writers, published by Writer's Digest . She has also written short stories for several anthologies and multiple picture books.
She was born Kelly Louise Going in Rhinebeck, New York. [1]
After graduation, she did volunteer service with the Mennonite Central Committee in New Orleans, Louisiana, teaching adult literacy. When she returned to New York she began working in publishing for the literary agency, Curtis Brown, Ltd.
After her first novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, was published she left the agency to write part-time. In addition to writing, she managed an independent bookstore in Cold Spring, New York, for the Merritt Bookstore.
Going has published three young adult novels, plus three novels for middle grade readers age eight to twelve, a picture book, and a reference book titled Writing and Selling the YA Novel published by Writer's Digest. [3]
She has additional picture books and novels under contract. Going's books have been published by Penguin Random House, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Simon & Schuster, and Writer's Digest and have won many awards and honors. Her books have been produced as audio books, made into a feature film, and the rights have been optioned for television and Broadway theatre. She has also written short stories for several anthologies, including Rush Hour Volume 3, Full House, and No Such Thing as the Real World.
In addition to her writing, Going also teaches workshops for the Highlights Foundation, speaks at schools and libraries around the country, participates in Skype visits with schools around the world, and teaches language arts part-time at the Homestead School, a private school in upstate New York.
Fat Kid Rules the World was screened at South by Southwest, winning the Audience Award for Narrative Spotlight. [5] Actor Matthew Lillard directed the film. The script was written by Michael Galvin and Peter Speakman. The film stars Jacob Wysocki as the title character. [6] [7] The film was scored by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and shot on location in Seattle, Washington.
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Fat Kid Rules the World is a young adult novel published by American author K. L. Going in 2003. The story follows a suicidal, 296 pound teen, Troy Billings, who befriends a local guitar legend, Curt MacCrae, who insists that they form a band together with Troy playing drums. KL Going has stated it was inspired by a mix of punk music, Kurt Cobain biographies, and a rejection letter she received from an editor.
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