Laura Whitcomb

Last updated
Laura Whitcomb
Born (1958-12-19) December 19, 1958 (age 65)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Website
www.laurawhitcomb.com

Laura Whitcomb (born December 19, 1958) is an American novelist and teacher. [1] She is best known for her book A Certain Slant of Light, [2] which has been optioned for a film by Summit Entertainment. [3] Whitcomb has won three Kay Snow awards and was runner-up in the Bulwer-Lytton Writing Contest. [4] [ when? ]

Contents

Background

Whitcomb grew up in Pasadena California in a mildly haunted house.[ citation needed ] She received a degree in English from California State University in 1993. Whitcomb wrote several books including A Certain Slant of Light in 2005, and its companion novel Under the Light in 2014. She also authored the historical fiction novel, The Fetch and a couple of how-to books titled Novel Shortcuts: Ten Techniques to Ensure a Great First Draft, and Your First Novel: An Author Agent Team Share the Keys to Achieving Your Dreams. [5] She has taught language arts in California and Hawaii and was the runner up in the Bulwer-Lytton writing contest for the best first sentence of the worst science fiction novel never written. She lives in Wilsonville, Oregon.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Critical reception for Whitcomb's work has been mixed to positive. [6] Kirkus Reviews has largely panned Whitcomb's work, criticizing it for being "forgettable" and not living up to its promise. [7] [8] In comparison, the American Library Association made A Certain Slant of Light one of their book picks for 2006 and the book was praised by Publishers Weekly. [9] [10] [11] However, A Certain Slant of Light was chosen for the "Discover Great New Writers" program at Barnes & Noble bookstores. The Fetch was #5 in the top ten of Children's Indie Next List 2009.

Published works

Fiction

Non-fiction

Related Research Articles

Susan Mallery is an American author of popular romance novels set in non-urban, close-knit communities. Because of her love for animals, pets play a significant role in her books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzanne Collins</span> American television writer and author

Suzanne Marie Collins is an American author and television writer. She is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian book series The Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children's fantasy series The Underland Chronicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libba Bray</span> American writer

Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, and The Diviners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonya Sones</span> American poet and author

Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written seven young adult novels in verse and one novel in verse for adults. The American Library Association (ALA) has named her one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.

<i>The Hunger Games</i> (novel) 2008 dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is a 2008 dystopian young adult novel by the American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the perspective of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the future, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games is an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle royale to the death.

Red Hen Press is an American non-profit press located in Pasadena, California, and specializing in the publication of poetry, literary fiction, and nonfiction. The press is a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and was a finalist for the 2013 AWP Small Press Publisher Award. The press has been featured in Publishers Weekly,Kirkus Reviews, and Independent Publisher.

Lynn Joseph is an author of children's books and an American lawyer. Her novella The Color of My Words won an Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Gidwitz</span> American childrens author

Adam Gidwitz is an American author of children's books, best known for A Tale Dark and Grimm (2010), In a Glass Grimmly (2012), and The Grimm Conclusion (2013). He received a 2017 Newbery Honor for The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (2016). In 2021, his book A Tale Dark and Grimm was adapted into an animated miniseries on Netflix.

<i>Wither</i> (Passarella novel)

Wither is a 1999 supernatural novel about ghosts and witches by John Passarella and Joseph Gangemi writing under the pseudonym "J.G. Passerella". Wither was nominated for an International Horror Guild Award and won the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for First Novel in 1999. Wither was later followed by the sequels Wither's Rain, Wither's Curse, and Wither's Legacy.

Hannah Moskowitz is an American author of young adult and middle grade novels.

<i>A Certain Slant of Light</i> (novel) Book by Laura Whitcomb

A Certain Slant of Light is a 2005 young adult horror novel by author Laura Whitcomb. The book was first published on September 21, 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Graphia imprint. Film rights for A Certain Slant of Light have been optioned by Summit Entertainment. The title is derived from the first line of "There's a certain Slant of light", a poem by Emily Dickinson.

Steven Gregory Spruill is an author of horror, science fiction, and thriller novels, best known for his "hemophage" novels: Rulers of Darkness, Daughter of Darkness, and Lords of Light. He has also written under the names Steve Harriman and Steve Lyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Russo</span> 21st-century American author

Meredith Russo is an American young adult author from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Brandy Colbert is an American author of young adult fiction and nonfiction.

Dhonielle Clayton is an American author and chief operating officer of We Need Diverse Books. She has written multiple book series, including The Belles (2018-2023). She also collaborated with Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon to write Blackout (2021).

<i>Blackout</i> (young adult novel) Young adult novel

Blackout is a young adult novel written by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. The book contains six interlinked stories about Black teen love during a power outage in New York City. The book was released on June 22, 2021.

<i>The Maid</i> (novel) 2022 novel by Nita Prose

The Maid: A Novel is a 2022 murder mystery debut novel by Canadian author Nita Prose.

Flora Ahn is an American author and illustrator of children's books.

Laura Hankin is an American novelist, screenwriter, and actress.

Madelyn Rosenberg is an American author of children's books.

References

  1. ↑ "AUTHOR INJECTS ENERGY INTO ENGLISH CLASS, 'CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT' NOVELIST SPEAKS TO SAYRE STUDENTS". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 29, 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Review: A Certain Slant of Light". The Horn Book Magazine. Nov 1, 2005.
  3. ↑ "Twilight Producers Move On To New Young Adult Novel, A Certain Slant Of Light". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "LAURA WHITCOMB Q&A". Writers Digest. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Laura Whitcomb." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
  6. ↑ "Audio Review: A Certain Slant of Light". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Review: A Certain Slant of Light". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Review: The Fetch". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Review: A Certain Slant of Light". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Review: The Fetch". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "ALA Book Picks 2006". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "Review: A Certain Slant of Light". Booklist. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "Audio Review: A Certain Slant of Light". Booklist. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  14. ↑ Whitcomb, Laura (2014-04-15). Under the Light (Reprint ed.). Place of publication not identified: HMH Books for Young Readers. ISBN   9780544302945.
  15. ↑ "Review: The Fetch". Booklist. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  16. ↑ "Audio Review: Fetch". Booklist. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.