S. E. Hinton

Last updated

S. E. Hinton
BornSusan Eloise Hinton
(1948-07-22) July 22, 1948 (age 75)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1967–present
Genre Young-adult novels, children's books, screenplays [1] [2]
Notable awards Margaret Edwards Award
1988
Website
www.sehinton.com

Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders (1967), which she wrote during high school. [lower-alpha 1] Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre. [4] [5]

Contents

In 1988, she received the inaugural Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her cumulative contribution in writing for teens. [6] [lower-alpha 2]

Career

While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name [lower-alpha 1] as the author of The Outsiders, her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965. [7] The book was inspired by two rival gangs at her school, Will Rogers High School, [8] the Greasers and the Socs, [3] and her desire to empathize with the Greasers by writing from their point of view. [lower-alpha 3] She wrote the novel when she was 16 and it was published in 1967. [10] Since then, the book has sold more than 14 million copies. [8] In 2017, Viking Press stated the book sells over 500,000 copies a year. [3]

Hinton's publisher suggested she use her initials instead of her feminine given names so that the first [11] male book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female. [7] [lower-alpha 4] After the success of The Outsiders, Hinton chose to continue writing and publishing using her initials because she did not want to lose what she had made famous [lower-alpha 5] and to allow her to keep her private and public lives separate. [lower-alpha 6]

Personal life

In interviews, Hinton has said that she is a private person and an introvert who no longer does public appearances. [12] She enjoys reading (Jane Austen, Mary Renault, and F. Scott Fitzgerald), [7] taking classes at the local university, and horseback riding. Hinton also revealed to Vulture that she enjoys writing fan fiction. [13]

She resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband David Inhofe, a software engineer she met in her freshman biology class at college. [8] He is a cousin of former Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe. [14]

Adaptations

Film adaptations of The Outsiders (March 1983) and Rumble Fish (October 1983) were both directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Hinton cowrote the script for Rumble Fish with Coppola. Also adapted to film were Tex (July 1982), directed by Tim Hunter, and That Was Then... This Is Now (November 1985), directed by Christopher Cain. Hinton herself acted as a location scout, and she had cameo roles in three of the four films. She plays a nurse in Dallas's hospital room in The Outsiders. In Tex, she is the typing teacher. She also appears as a sex worker propositioning Rusty James in Rumble Fish. In 2009, Hinton portrayed the school principal in The Legend of Billy Fail. [15]

Awards and honors

Hinton received the inaugural 1988 Margaret A. Edwards Award [lower-alpha 2] from the American YA librarians, citing her first four YA novels, which had been published from 1967 to 1979 and adapted as films from 1982 to 1985. The annual [lower-alpha 2] award recognizes one author of books published in the U.S., and specified works "taken to heart by young adults over a period of years, providing an 'authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives'." The librarians noted that in reading Hinton's novels "a young adult may explore the need for independence and simultaneously the need for loyalty and belonging, the need to care for others, and the need to be cared for by them." [6]

In 1992, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa by the University of Tulsa, [16] and in 1998 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame at the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers of Oklahoma State University–Tulsa. [17]

Works

Young adult novels

The five YA novels, her first books published, are Hinton's works most widely held in WorldCat libraries. [18] All are set in Oklahoma, and take place within a shared universe.

Children's books

Adult fiction

Autobiography

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Once a teen sensation who wrote her most famous book while still in high school, Hinton is now 59." –Italie [3]
  2. 1 2 3 Before 1988 the ALA awards did not distinguish "children's" literature—the Newbery book award and Wilder career award—from that for "young adults". Hinton won the first biennial "Young Adult Services Division/School Library Journal Author Achievement Award", according to plan, but there were only two as it was renamed and made annual after 1990.
    On the last point compare the 1988, 1990, and 1991 Edwards Award citations.
  3. ↑ "Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn't be so quick to judge." [9]
  4. ↑ "Viking signed her ... with a suggestion that she call herself S.E. in print, so male critics wouldn't be turned off by a woman writer." –Italie [3]
  5. ↑ "I made the name famous. I'm not gonna lose it." [11]
  6. ↑ "I like having a private name and a public name. It helps keep things straight." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Outsiders</i> (novel) 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by S.E. Hinton published in 1967 by Viking Press. The book details the conflict between two rival gangs of White Americans divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "Greasers" and the upper-middle-class "Socs". The story is told in first-person perspective by teenage protagonist Ponyboy Curtis, and takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965, although this is never explicitly stated in the book.

<i>That Was Then, This Is Now</i> 1971 young adult novel by S. E. Hinton

That Was Then, This Is Now is a coming-of age, young adult novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1971. Set in the 1960s, it follows the relationship between two brothers, Mark Jennings and Bryon Douglas, who are foster brothers, but find their relationship rapidly changing and deteriorating. The book was later adapted into a 1985 film starring Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.

Cynthia Voigt is an American writer of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse. Her first book in the Tillerman family series, Homecoming, was nominated for several international prizes and adapted as a 1996 film. Her novel Dicey's Song won the 1983 Newbery Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesca Lia Block</span> American writer (born 1963)

Francesca Lia Block is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the Weetzie Bat series, which she began while a student at UC Berkeley.

Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18, and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels.

Nancy Garden was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults, best known for the lesbian novel Annie on My Mind. She received the 2003 Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association recognizing her lifetime contribution in writing for teens, citing Annie alone.

<i>The Outsiders</i> (film) 1983 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.

<i>Taming the Star Runner</i>

Taming the Star Runner (1988) is a young adult coming-of-age novel written by S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders. Unlike her previous young adult novels, this novel has not been made into a film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Woodson</span> American writer (born 1963)

Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for Miracle's Boys, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, by the Library of Congress, for 2018 to 2019. Her novel Another Brooklyn was shortlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. She won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Donnelly</span> American writer of young adult fiction

Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer best known for the young adult historical novel A Northern Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon M. Draper</span> American childrens writer and educator

Sharon Mills Draper is an American children's writer, professional educator, and the 1997 National Teacher of the Year. She is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for books about the young and adolescent African-American experience. She is known for her Hazelwood and Jericho series, Copper Sun,Double Dutch, Out of My Mind and Romiette and Julio.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of libraries to better serve teens. YALSA administers several awards and sponsors an annual Young Adult Literature Symposium, Teen Read Week, the third week of each October, and Teen Tech Week, the second week of each March. YALSA currently has over 5,200 members. YALSA aims to expand and strengthen library services for teens through advocacy, research, professional development and events.

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is an annual award given to a work of young adult literature by a "first-time author writing for teens". It is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It was named for twentieth-century American publisher William C. Morris, whom YALSA calls an innovator and "an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults".

The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named after Margaret A. Edwards (1902–1988), the pioneer, longtime director of young adult services at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

Susan Eloise Hinton is an American author who is best known for writing young adult fiction. The Outsiders was Hinton's first published book in 1967; Hinton started the book at the age of fifteen. Hinton based the characters, the Greasers and the Socs, off of teenage gangs and alienated youth in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma during the 1960s. The Outsiders has sold over fourteen million copies since it was published. In 1983, The Outsiders became a movie, and was later released onto DVD. After experiencing a writer's block and going into a state of depression, Hinton met somebody in her freshmen biology class, who inspired her to continue writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret A. Edwards</span> American librarian

Margaret Alexander Edwards was an American educator and librarian who was at the forefront of the movement for young adult services in the 20th century. She is the namesake of the Margaret Edwards Award for young adult literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Stiefvater</span> American author (born 1981)

Margaret Stiefvater is an American writer of young adult fiction. She is best known for her fantasy series The Wolves of Mercy Falls and The Raven Cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adele Griffin</span> American young adult fiction author

Adele Griffin is the author of over thirty highly acclaimed books across a variety of genres, including Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, both National Book Award finalists. Her debut adult novel The Favor explores themes of friendship, surrogacy, and nontraditional family building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jandy Nelson</span> American author

Jandy Nelson is an American author. Prior to her career as an author, Nelson worked for 13 years as a literary agent at Manus & Associates Literary Agency. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University as well as several Master of Fine Arts degrees. She later attended Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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

References

  1. ↑ S.E. Hinton at IMDb.
  2. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (October 29, 2004). "When you grow up, your heart dies: SE Hinton's The Outsiders (1983)". The Guardian . Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Italie, Hillel (October 3, 2007). "40 years later Hinton's 'The Outsiders' still strikes a chord among the readers". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Michaud, Jon (October 14, 2014). "S. E. Hinton and the Y.A. Debate". The New Yorker .
  5. ↑ Grady, Constance (January 26, 2017). "The Outsiders reinvented young adult fiction. Harry Potter made it inescapable". Vox .
  6. 1 2 "1988 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner" Archived October 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
      "Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Frequently Asked Questions". sehinton.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Smith, Dinitia (September 7, 2005). "An Interview With S. E. Hinton: An Outsider, Out of the Shadow". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ Peck, Dale (September 23, 2007). "The Outsiders: 40 Years Later". The New York Times .
  10. ↑ "The Outsiders". Penguin Random House. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 "Staying Golden". Unsigned review of Hawkes Harbor. New York Press. September 28, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  12. ↑ Saucier, Heather (April 7, 1997). "INSIDE AN OUTSIDER // Noted Tulsa Author Prefers Family Life To Limelight". Tulsa World .
  13. ↑ Whitford, Emma (March 13, 2015). "Lev Grossman, S.E. Hinton, and Other Authors on the Freedom of Writing Fanfiction". Vulture .
  14. ↑ Smith, Sue. "Tulsans Have Novel Time at Premiere". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  15. ↑ Legend of Billy Fail at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg .
  16. ↑ "University of Tulsa Phi Beta Kappa".
  17. ↑ "HINTON, SUSAN ELOISE (1949– )" Oklahoma Historical Society.
  18. 1 2 "Hinton, S. E.". WorldCat. Retrieved March 10, 2013.

Further reading

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.