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]
Early life and education
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]LaCour currently lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.[3]
Selected works
[edit]Hold Still (2009)
[edit]Hold Still is a young adult novel published October 20, 2009 by Dutton Children's Books.
The book received the following accolades:
- American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults selection (2010)[8]
- William C. Morris Award finalist (2010)[9][10]
Everything Leads to You (2014)
[edit]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:
- Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction nominee (2014)[12]
- YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults (2015)[13]
- ALA Rainbow List (2015)[14][13]
We Are Okay (2017)
[edit]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:
- Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (2017)[20]
- Michael L. Printz Award (2018)[21][2]
- American Library Association's Rainbow List Top Ten (2018)[22]
Watch Over Me (2020)
[edit]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:
- YALSA's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults selection (2021)[27]
- YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults (2021)[28]
Yerba Buena (2022)
[edit]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)
[edit]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
[edit]- Hold Still (2009)
- The Disenchantments (2012)
- Everything Leads to You (2014)
- You Know Me Well, with David Levithan (2016)
- We Are Okay (2017)
- Watch Over Me (2020)
- Yerba Buena (2022)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c McQuiston, Casey (June 13, 2022). "Nina LaCour On 'Yerba Buena,' Writing Queer Love Stories, & YA Vs. Adult Fiction". Bustle. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ a b Morales, Macey (February 12, 2018). "'We Are Okay' wins 2018 Printz Award". American Library Association. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "About Nina". Nina LaCour. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Hold Still" Nina LaCour
- ^ McMahon, Regan (March 8, 2018). "Voice of youth: Author Nina LaCour honored for her YA fiction". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ Comerford, Lynda Brill (December 21, 2009). "Fall 2009 Flying Starts: Nina LaCour". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Creative Writing Programs - Faculty and Staff -". Hamline University. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Hold Still | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "YALSA's 2010 Literary Award Winners". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "hold still | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Everything Leads to You". Goodreads. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Everything Leads To You". YALSA Book Finder. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Everything Leads To You | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time". Time. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Best children's and YA books of 2017". The Boston Globe. December 8, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Best Books 2017 Publishers Weekly". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Orenstein, Hannah (January 16, 2018). "28 of the Best YA Books of 2017". Seventeen. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2017. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2022 – via Booklist.
- ^ "We are okay | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. February 16, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "2018 Rainbow List". Rainbow Book List. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Best Books for Teens 2020". The New York Public Library. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Best Teen Fiction of 2020". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Penn, Farrah. "The Best YA Books Of 2020". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Best of 2020". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "2021 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ Hynek, Julia (June 11, 2022). "'Yerba Buena' Review: Understated, Bittersweet, Brilliant". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ Harlan, Jennifer (May 31, 2022). "Love and Trauma in the Wilds of California". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". them. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024.