Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for '' Miracle's Boys'', and her

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

-winning titles '' Brown Girl Dreaming'', '' After Tupac and D Foster'', ''

Feathers Feathers are epidermis (zoology), epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both Bird, avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in ...

,'' 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 The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, for 2018 to 2019. Her novel '' Another Brooklyn'' was shortlisted for the 2016

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...

. She won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020.

Early years

Jacqueline Woodson was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and lived in Nelsonville, Ohio, before her family moved south. During her early years she lived in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, before moving to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

at about the age of seven. She also states where she lives in her autobiography, '' Brown Girl Dreaming''. As a child, Woodson enjoyed telling stories and always knew she wanted to be a writer. Her favorite books when she was young were

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's " The Little Match Girl" and Mildred D. Taylor's '' Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry''.

Writing career

After college, Woodson went to work for Kirchoff/Wohlberg, a children's publishing company. She helped to write the California standardized reading tests and caught the attention of Liza Pulitzer-Voges, a children's book agent at the same company. Although the partnership did not work out, it did get Woodson's first manuscript out of a drawer. She then enrolled in Bunny Gable's children's book writing class at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

, where Bebe Willoughby, an editor at Delacorte, heard a reading from ''Last Summer with Maizon'' and requested the manuscript. Delacorte bought the manuscript, but Willoughby left the company before editing it and so Wendy Lamb took over and saw Woodson's first book published.Brown, Jennifer M
"From outsider to insider"
(interview), ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''. 249.6 (February 11, 2002): p. 156. Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009.

Inspirations

Woodson's youth was split between

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and

. In her interview with Jennifer M. Brown she remembered: "The South was so lush and so slow-moving and so much about community. The city was thriving and fast-moving and electric. Brooklyn was so much more diverse: on the block where I grew up, there were

German people Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, people from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, people from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, African-Americans from the South, Caribbean-Americans, Asians." When asked to name her literary influences in an interview with

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Hazel Rochman, Woodson responded: "Two major writers for me are James Baldwin and Virginia Hamilton. It blew me away to find out Virginia Hamilton was a sister like me. Later,

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (June 7, 1943 – December 9, 2024) was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. One of the world's best-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recor ...

had a similar effect on me. I feel that I learned how to write from Baldwin. He was onto some future stuff, writing about race and gender long before people were comfortable with those dialogues. He would cross class lines all over the place, and each of his characters was remarkably believable. I still pull him down from my shelf when I feel stuck." Other early influences included

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

's '' The Bluest Eye'' and '' Sula'', and the work of Rosa Guy, as well as her high-school English teacher, Mr. Miller. Louise Meriwether was also named.

Style

As an author, Woodson's known for the detailed physical landscapes she writes into each of her books. She places boundaries everywhere—social, economic, physical, sexual, racial—then has her characters break through both the physical and psychological boundaries to create a strong and emotional story. She is also known for her optimism. She has said that she dislikes books that do not offer hope. She has offered the novel '' Sounder'' as an example of a "bleak" and "hopeless" novel. On the other hand, she enjoyed '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn''. Even though the family was exceptionally poor, the characters experienced "moments of hope and sheer beauty". She uses this philosophy in her own writing, saying: "If you love the people you create, you can see the hope there." As a writer she consciously writes for a younger audience. There are authors who write about adolescence or from a youth's point of view, but their work is intended for adult audiences. Woodson writes about childhood and adolescence with an audience of youth in mind. In an interview on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

(NPR) she said, "I'm writing about adolescents for adolescents. And I think the main difference is when you're writing to a particular age group, especially a younger age group, you're — the writing can't be as implicit. You're more in the moment. They don't have the adult experience from which to look back. So you're in the moment of being an adolescent ... and the immediacy and the urgency is very much on the page, because that's what it feels like to be an adolescent. Everything is so important, so big, so traumatic. And all of that has to be in place for them.""Interview: Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Lethem and Jacqueline Woodson discuss the writer's view of adolescence". ''Talk of the Nation'' (August 19, 2004): Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009.

Teaching

Woodson has, in turn, influenced many other writers, including An Na, who credits her as being her first writing teacher. She also teaches teens at the

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

's summer writing camp where she co-edits the annual anthology of their combined work. She was also a visiting fellow at the American Library in Paris in spring of 2017.

Themes

Some reviewers have labeled Woodson's writings as "issue-related", but she believes that her books address universal questions. She has tackled subjects that were not commonly discussed when her books were published, including interracial couples,

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female under the age of 20. Worldwide, pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death for women and girls 15 to 19 years old. The definition of teenage pregnancy i ...

and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

. She often does this with sympathetic characters put into realistic situations. Woodson states that her interests lie in exploring many different perspectives through her writings, not in forcing her views onto others. Woodson has several themes that appear in many of her novels. She explores issues of gender, class and race as well as family and history. She is known for using these common themes in ground-breaking ways.Rochman, Hazel. "Jacqueline Woodson", ''Booklist''. 101.11 (February 1, 2005), p. 968. Literature Resource Center. Gale. HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY. June 13, 2009. While many of her characters are given labels that make them "invisible" to society, Woodson is most often writing about their search for self rather than a search for equality or social justice.

Gender

Only ''The Notebooks of Melanin Sun'', ''Miracle's Boys,'' and ''Locomotion'' are written from a male perspective. The rest of Woodson's works feature female narrators. However, her 2009 small story "Trev", published in '' How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity'', features a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

male narrator.

African-American society and history

In her 2003 novel, ''Coming on Home Soon'', she explores both race and gender within the historical context of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ''The Other Side'' is a poetic look at race through two young girls, one black and one white, who sit on either side of the fence that separates their worlds. In November 2014,

Daniel Handler Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970) is an American author, musician, screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is best known for his children's book series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and '' All the Wrong Question ...

, the master of ceremonies at the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

s, made a joke about

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

s when Woodson received an award. In a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Op-Ed published shortly thereafter, "The Pain of the Watermelon Joke," Woodson explained that "in making light of that deep and troubled history" with his joke, Daniel Handler had come from a place of ignorance. She underscored the need for her mission to "give people a sense of this country's brilliant and brutal history, so no one ever thinks they can walk onto a stage one evening and laugh at another's too often painful" '' Red at the Bone'' (2019), a novel, weaves together stories of three generations of one Black family, including the trauma resulting from the Tulsa Race Massacre and the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Economic status

'' The Dear One'' is notable for dealing with the differences between rich and poor within the black community.

Sexual identity

''The House You Pass on the Way'' is a novel that touches on gay identity through the main characters of Staggerlee. In ''The Dear One'' Woodson introduces a strongly committed lesbian relationship between Marion and Bernadette. She then contrasts it to the broken straight family that results in a teenager from Harlem named Rebecca moving in with them and their 12-year-old daughter, Feni.

Critical response

''Last Summer with Maizon'', Woodson's first book, was praised by critics for creating positive female characters and the touching portrayal of the close eleven-year-old friends. Reviewers also commented on its convincing sense of place and vivid character relationships. The next two books in the trilogy, ''Maizon at Blue Hill'' and ''Between Madison and Palmetto'', were also well received for their realistic characters and strong writing style. The issues of self-esteem and identity are addressed throughout the three books. A few reviewers felt that there was a slight lack of focus as the trilogy touched lightly and quickly on too many different problems in too few pages. Announcing her as recipient of the ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award in 2006, the citation of the panel of librarians chair stated: "Woodson's books are powerful, groundbreaking and very personal explorations of the many ways in which identity and friendship transcend the limits of stereotype." In October 2020, Woodson won a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

, commonly known as a "Genius Grant." The MacArthur Foundation recognized her for "redefining children’s and young adult literature in works that reflect the complexity and diversity of the world we live in while stretching young readers’ intellectual abilities and capacity for empathy." Her books "evoke the hopefulness and power of human connection even as they tackle difficult issues." She has stated that she plans to use the grant money to expand Baldwin for the Arts, the residency program for people of color she founded.

Censorship

Some of the topics covered in Woodson's books raise flags for many censors. Homosexuality, child abuse, harsh language and other content have led to issues with censorship. In an interview on NPR Woodson said that she uses very few curse words in her books and that the issues adults have with her subject matter say more about what they are uncomfortable with than it does what their students should be thinking about. She suggests that people look at the various outside influences teens have access to today, then compare that to the subject matter in her books.

Personal life

Woodson lives in

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...

, with her partner Juliet Widoff, a physician. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son.

Awards and honors

*1995 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This'' *1996 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun'' *2001 Coretta Scott King Award for ''Miracle's Boys'' * ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005 *2004 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''Locomotion'' *2005 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers for ''Behind You'' *2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award *2006

for '' Show Way'' *2008

for ''

'' *2009

for ''After Tupac and D Foster'' *2009 Josette Frank Award for ''After Tupac and D Foster'' *2009 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards for ''Peace Locomotion'' *2009 Keystone to Reading Book Award for ''Peace Locomotion'' *2013 Coretta Scott King Honor for ''Each Kindness'' *2013 Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Book for Younger Children for ''Each Kindness'' *2014

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

, U.S. nominee *2014

in Young People's Literature for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Coretta Scott King Award for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation *2015 Langston Hughes Medal, The City College of New York *2015

for '' Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Literary Work In Youth/Teens Fiction for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor for ''Brown Girl Dreaming'' *2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

, recognizes significant contribution to children's literature. *2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work In Fiction for ''Another Brooklyn'' *2018–19 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for the

. *2018

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award () is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it ...

*2018

Children's Literature Legacy Award The Children's Literature Legacy Award (formerly the ''Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal'' or ''Wilder Award'') is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers ...

*2019

for Outstanding Literary Work In Youth/Teens for ''Harbor Me'' *2019 Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Book for Younger Children for ''The Day You Begin'' *2019 Goodread's Choice Award Best Fiction Nomination for '' Red at the Bone'' *2020

, winner *2020

MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

Grant Award, winner

Complete works

Adult novels

* '' Autobiography of a Family Photo'' (1995) * '' Another Brooklyn'' (2016) * '' Red at the Bone'' (2019) * ''Remember Us'' (2023) ()

Middle grade titles

* ''Last Summer with Maizon'' (1990) * ''Maizon at Blue Hill'' (1992) * ''Between Madison and Palmetto'' (1993) * ''

'' (2007) * '' After Tupac and D Foster'' (2008) * ''Peace Locomotion'' (2009) * ''Locomotion'' (2010), verse novel * '' Brown Girl Dreaming'' (2014), verse novel * ''Harbor Me'' (2018) * ''Before the Ever After'' (2020)

Young adult titles

* ''The Dear One'' (1990) * '' I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This'' (1994) * ''From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun'' (1995) * ''The House You Pass on the Way'' (1997) * ''If You Come Softly'' (1998) * ''Lena'' (1999) * '' Miracle's Boys'' (2000) * ''Hush'' (2002) * ''Behind You'' (2004) * ''Beneath a Meth Moon'' (2012) * ''The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves'' (2012) (Contributor)

Illustrated works

* ''Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Birthday'' (nonfiction), illus. Floyd Cooper (1990) * ''Book Chase'', illus. Steve Cieslawski (1994) * ''We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past'', illus. Diane Greenseid (1997) * ''Sweet, Sweet Memory'', illus. Floyd Cooper (2000) * '' The Other Side'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2001) * ''Visiting Day'', illus. James Ransome (2002) * ''Our Gracie Aunt'', illus. Jon J. Muth (2002) * ''Coming on Home Soon'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2003) * '' Show Way'', illus. Hudson Talbott (2006) * ''Pecan Pie Baby'', illus. Sophie Blackall (2010) * '' Each Kindness'', illus. E. B. Lewis (2012) * ''This Is the Rope,'' illus. James Ransome (2013) * '' The Day You Begin'', illus. Rafael López (2018) * '' The Year We Learned to Fly'', illus. Rafael López (2022) * ''The World Belonged To Us'', illus by Leo Espinoza (2022)

Adaptations

Film

Filmmaker

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

and others made ''Miracle's Boys'' into a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, airing in 2005."Miracle's Boys , TV Mini-Series (2005– )"
at IMDb.

Audio recordings

*''I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This'', Recorded Books, 1999 *''Lena'', Recorded Books, 1999 *''Miracle's Boys'', Listening Library, 2001 *''Locomotion'', Recorded Books, 2003 * ''Show Way'', Weston Woods, 2012 * ''Brown Girl Dreaming'', Penguin Audio, 2014 * ''If You Come Softly'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Harbor Me'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''The Day You Begin'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Visiting Day'', Listening Library, 2018 * ''Before Her'', part of "The One" series, Brilliance Publishing, 2019 * ''Red at the Bone'', Penguin Audio, 2019

References

External links

*
Jacqueline Woodson
at glbtq.com * '' If You Come Softly'' at

Wikiquote is part of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation using MediaWiki software. The project's objective is to collaboratively produce a vast reference of quotations from prominent people, books, films, proverbs, etc. and ...

Jacqueline Woodson Papers
at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

Jacqueline Woodson
at

Authorities — with 43 catalog records * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Jacqueline 1963 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers African-American children's writers African-American novelists American children's writers American women children's writers American women novelists American writers of young adult literature American children's poets African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ novelists LGBTQ people from Ohio Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature winners Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction winners American lesbian writers MacArthur Fellows MacDowell Colony fellows Margaret A. Edwards Award winners Newbery Honor winners Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from North Carolina Novelists from Ohio People from Nelsonville, Ohio American women writers of young adult literature Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Columbus, Ohio 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners Children's Literature Legacy Award winners Adelphi University alumni The New School alumni Coretta Scott King Award winners Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winners African-American lesbian writers Former Jehovah's Witnesses