Ned Vizzini
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Edison Price Vizzini (April 4, 1981 – December 19, 2013) was an American writer. He was the author of four books for young adults including ''
It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...
'', which
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named #56 of the "100 Best-Ever Teen Novels" and which is the basis of the film of the same name. Vizzini had depression, spending time in a
psychiatric ward Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
in his early 20s, and authoring several works about the illness. He was found dead in his native
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
after an apparent
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
from a fall, aged 32.


Early life

Vizzini grew up primarily in the
Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...
neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He attended Stuyvesant High School in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, graduating in 1999. Vizzini's characters and situations are said to be based upon his time spent at Stuyvesant.


Career

Vizzini's first published work was an essay he submitted to the ''
New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...
'', an
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, about winning honorable mention at the 1996 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. As a freelance writer for the paper, he wrote about everything from family vacations to getting drunk in the street with other kids. The success of Vizzini's work earned him an invitation to contribute a teen-focused article to the ''
New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
''. In May 1998, Vizzini's essay "Teen Angst? Nah!" appeared in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Following this, several of his ''New York Press'' columns became the core of his first book, ''Teen Angst? Naaah....'' which is a
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
of his teenage years. It is a collection of short stories, most of which were originally published in ''The New York Press'' and ''The New York Times Magazine''. The book is broken down by years covering junior high through high school and beyond. Vizzini attended
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
, located in Manhattan. In 2004 his first novel ''
Be More Chill ''Be More Chill'' is a teen novel written by American author Ned Vizzini and published on June 1, 2004. It follows unpopular high school student and social outcast Jeremy Heere, who is considered a loser by his peers. Deeply unsatisfied with his ...
'' was published. A review in the '' New York Times Book Review'' said that ''Be More Chill'', which is about a high school student named Jeremy Heere who gets a supercomputer pill in his brain that makes him cool, "is so accurate that it should come with a warning," adding that "If it weren't so funny, izzini'sfirst novel might be too painful to read." ''Be More Chill'' was later adapted into a musical in summer 2015 with music and lyrics by
Joe Iconis Joseph Peter Philip Iconis (born September 22, 1981) is an American composer, lyricist, and playwright. He is best known for writing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical '' Be More Chill''. Early life and education Iconis graduated f ...
and premiered at New Jersey's Two River Theatre. Three years later, an Off-Broadway production opened at the Signature Theater in New York, followed by a Broadway premiere the following February. In 2006 Vizzini's second novel ''
It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...
'' was published. It is based on his five-day stay in Brooklyn's Methodist Hospital psychiatric ward. The book recounts fifteen-year-old Craig Gilner's battle with suicidal depression as a result of a taxing school year at Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School that exacerbates his feeling of social inadequacy. A ''
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'' review called the novel "impressive," noting that "Vizzini’s sense of pacing, structure and character is solid, and his casual vernacular is dead-on, simultaneously capturing the paranoia and self-obsessed negativity of depression as well as the sexual curiosity of adolescence." In 2012 Vizzini's third novel ''The Other Normals'' was published. It is an "alternative fantasy" about a teenager who falls into a fantasy world that is the basis of his favorite
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
. A review in ''
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'' said, "The sharp wit from author Ned Vizzini’s earlier works ... is on display here as well." With
Nick Antosca Nicholas J. Antosca (born January 23, 1983) is an American film and television writer, producer, and novelist. He is the creator and showrunner of the horror anthology television series '' Channel Zero'' (2016–2018). He also co-created and sh ...
, Vizzini wrote two episodes of the 2012 season of MTV's supernatural drama ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...
''. In 2013, '' House of Secrets'', the first novel in a middle grade fantasy series by Vizzini and filmmaker Chris Columbus, was published. It debuted on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list, where it remained for four weeks. ''
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'' gave the book an "A−" review. His essays and criticism appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''
The Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...
'', and ''
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''. Vizzini spoke at schools and libraries around the world about mental health, writing, and how students can use writing as a medicine for mental health. He spoke at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
;
The Dalton School The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located i ...
; the
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York, and
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
Public Libraries; Murray State University;
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
;
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; and a Master's Tea at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. Vizzini and Antosca were story editors on ABC's 2013 drama series '' Last Resort''. They are the credited writers of the episode "Nuke It Out." From 2006 to 2012 Vizzini facilitated a writing workshop for local teenagers. The workshops were held monthly in a
Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...
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. The teens who attended had the chance to have their work published on the group's blog, "Give Us Money."


Death

Vizzini, who often spoke and wrote about his struggles with severe clinical depression, died by suicide on December 19, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 32. The New York City chief medical examiner's office said he suffered blunt impact injuries. The writer's brother, Daniel, told reporters that Vizzini had jumped off the roof of the building where their parents live.


Bibliography

* ''Teen Angst? Naaah...'' (2000) * ''
Be More Chill ''Be More Chill'' is a teen novel written by American author Ned Vizzini and published on June 1, 2004. It follows unpopular high school student and social outcast Jeremy Heere, who is considered a loser by his peers. Deeply unsatisfied with his ...
'' (2004) * ''
It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...
'' (2006) * ''The Other Normals'' (2012) * '' House of Secrets'' (2013) * ''House of Secrets: Battle of the Beasts'' (2014)


References


External links


Ned Vizzini's blog
on
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vizzini, Ned 1981 births 2013 suicides 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American young adult novelists Hunter College alumni Novelists from New York (state) People from Park Slope People with mood disorders Stuyvesant High School alumni Suicides by jumping in New York City Writers from Brooklyn