Nina LaCour

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Nina LaCour is an American author, primarily known for writing young adult literature with queer, romantic story lines. [1] Her novel We Are Okay won the Printz Award in 2017. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

LaCour was born in 1983 [1] in and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. [3] Her family instilled in her an appreciation for the arts and education: "her grandmother taught china painting classes; her father was a teacher and then school principal; and her mother taught high school photography [4] ." [3]

She attended Campolindo High School and graduated in 2000. [5] She received her bachelor's degree from San Francisco State University and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Mills College. [3] [6]

Career

LaCour's first novel, Hold Still , was the result of her master's thesis while at Mills College. [3] Also while there, LaCour began teaching English composition to undergraduate students. [3] Following graduation, she taught at Berkeley City College and Maybeck High School before taking a few years off to care for her daughter. [3]

At present, LaCour teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Hamline University. [7]

Personal life

LaCour currently lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter. [3]

Selected works

Hold Still (2009)

Hold Still is a young adult novel published October 20, 2009 by Dutton Children's Books.

The book received the following accolades:

Everything Leads to You (2014)

Everything Leads to You is a young adult novel published May 15, 2014 Dutton Children's Books.

The book is a Junior Library Guild selection [11] and has received the following accolades:

We Are Okay (2017)

We Are Okay is a young adult novel published February 14, 2017, by Dutton Children's Books.

TIME added the book to its "100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time" list, [15] and Bustle named it one of the best books of the decade. [16] The Boston Globe, [17] Publishers Weekly , [18] and Seventeen [19] named it one of the best books of the year.

We Are Okay received various accolades, including the following:

Watch Over Me (2020)

Watch Over Me is a young adult novel published September 15, 2020, by Dutton Children's Books.

The New York Public Library, [23] Chicago Public Library, [24] Buzzfeed , [25] and Kirkus [26] named it one of the best young adult books of the year.

The book received various accolades, including the following:

Yerba Buena (2022)

Yerba Buena is LaCour's first book of adult fiction. The novel has "themes of drug and sexual abuse, death, abandonment, and purposelessness" [29] but is ultimately the story of "two star-crossed young women navigating trauma, family, and romance". [1] The New York Times reviewed the book and called it a "sensory feast". [30]

The Apartment House on Poppy Hill (2023)

LaCour's 2023 book The Apartment House on Poppy Hill, illustrated by Sonia Albert, was shortlisted for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Children's Literature. [31]

Publications

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We Are Okay is a young adult novel by Nina LaCour, published February 14, 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers.

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Hold Still is a young adult novel by Nina LaCour, published October 20, 2009, by Dutton Children's Books.

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Watch Over Me is a young adult novel by Nina LaCour, published September 15, 2020 by Dutton Books for Young Readers.

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Everything Leads to You is a young adult novel by Nina LaCour, published May 15, 2014 by Dutton Books for Young Readers.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 McQuiston, Casey (June 13, 2022). "Nina LaCour On 'Yerba Buena,' Writing Queer Love Stories, & YA Vs. Adult Fiction". Bustle . Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Morales, Macey (February 12, 2018). "'We Are Okay' wins 2018 Printz Award". American Library Association. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "About Nina". Nina LaCour. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Hold Still" Nina LaCour
  5. ↑ McMahon, Regan (March 8, 2018). "Voice of youth: Author Nina LaCour honored for her YA fiction". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ Comerford, Lynda Brill (December 21, 2009). "Fall 2009 Flying Starts: Nina LaCour". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Creative Writing Programs - Faculty and Staff -". Hamline University. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Hold Still | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "YALSA's 2010 Literary Award Winners". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ "hold still | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Everything Leads to You". Goodreads. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Everything Leads To You". YALSA Book Finder. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Everything Leads To You | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time". Time. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ Colyard, K.W. (December 18, 2019). "The Best Books Of The 2010s, According To 30 Of The Decade's Debut Authors". Bustle. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Best children's and YA books of 2017". The Boston Globe. December 8, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Best Books 2017 Publishers Weekly". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ Orenstein, Hannah (January 16, 2018). "28 of the Best YA Books of 2017". Seventeen. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2017. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2022– via Booklist.
  21. ↑ "We are okay | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. February 16, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "2018 Rainbow List". Rainbow Book List. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Best Books for Teens 2020". The New York Public Library. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Best Teen Fiction of 2020". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  25. ↑ Penn, Farrah (December 10, 2020). "The Best YA Books Of 2020". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Best of 2020". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  27. ↑ "2021 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  28. ↑ "2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  29. ↑ Hynek, Julia (June 11, 2022). "'Yerba Buena' Review: Understated, Bittersweet, Brilliant". The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  30. ↑ Harlan, Jennifer (May 31, 2022). "Love and Trauma in the Wilds of California". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". them. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
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