Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her

young-adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

s (YA) set in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, especially ''

The Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

'' (1967), which she wrote during

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre. She graduated from the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

. In 1988, she received the inaugural

Margaret Edwards Award 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 aft ...

from 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 ...

for her cumulative contribution in writing for teens.

Career

While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name as the author of ''The Outsiders'', her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965. The book was inspired by two rival gangs at her school,

Will Rogers High School Will Rogers Middle and High School, located at 3909 E. 5th Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was built by Tulsa Public Schools in 1939 using WPA workers and designed by Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. and Leon B. Senter. It was named for the humorist Will ...

, the Greasers and the

Socs SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Genes * CISH (gene), CISH * SOCS1 * SOCS2 * SOCS3 * SOCS4 * SOCS5 * SOCS6 * SOCS7 Structure All SOCS have certai ...

, and her desire to empathize with the Greasers by writing from their point of view. She wrote the novel when she was 16 and it was published in 1967. Since then, the book has sold more than 14 million copies. In 2017,

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

stated the book sells over 500,000 copies a year. Hinton's publisher suggested she use her initials instead of her feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

s so that the first male book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female. 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 and to allow her to keep her private and public lives separate.

Personal life

In interviews, Hinton has said that she is a private person and an

introvert Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

who no longer does public appearances. She enjoys reading (

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was a British writer best k ...

, and

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

), taking classes at the local university, and horseback riding. Hinton also revealed to ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' that she enjoys writing

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

. She resides in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, with her husband David Inhofe, a

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

she met in her freshman biology class at college. He is a cousin of former Oklahoma Senator

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

Adaptations

The

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

s ''

'' (March 1983) and ''

Rumble Fish ''Rumble Fish'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel '' Rumble Fish'' by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vince ...

'' (October 1983) were both directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

; Hinton cowrote the script for ''Rumble Fish'' with Coppola. Also adapted to film were ''

Tex Tex, TeX, TEX, may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Tex Earnhardt (1930–2020), U.S. businessman * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer ...

'' (July 1982), directed by Tim Hunter, and '' That Was Then... This Is Now'' (November 1985), directed by

Christopher Cain Christopher Cain (born October 29, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Cain was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1969, he married Sharon Thomas, and adopted her two sons, Roger and Dean Cain, Dean. The couple's daug ...

. Hinton herself acted as a

location scout Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work sho ...

, and she had

cameo roles A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...

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''.

Awards and honors

Hinton received the inaugural 1988

Margaret A. Edwards Award 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 aft ...

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 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." In 1992, she was inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

by the

, 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 Oklahoma State University–Tulsa, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, is the newest institution of the Oklahoma State University System. It was previously the University Center at Tulsa until it became OSU-Tulsa on January 1, 1999. OSU-T ...

.HINTON, SUSAN ELOISE (1949– )
Oklahoma Historical Society.

Works

Young adult novels

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

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

. * ''

'' (1967) * ''

That Was Then, This Is Now ''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 fi ...

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1975) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Taming the Star Runner'' (1988)

Children's books

* ''Big David, Little David'', illustrated by Alan Daniel (1995),

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

* ''

The Puppy Sister ''The Puppy Sister'' is a 1995 children's novella written by American writer S. E. Hinton and illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers. The story revolves around Aleasha, a tricolor Australian Shepherd puppy who realises that the only way to really f ...

'', illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers (1995),

chapter book A chapter book is a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advanced readers, ...

Adult fiction

* ''

Hawkes Harbor ''Hawkes Harbor'' is a 2004 novel by American writer S. E. Hinton. Plot summary Orphaned and illegitimate, Jamie Sommers grows up believing he has "no hope of heaven", that he is doomed to a dreadful existence. A Roman Catholic, he is deeply dep ...

'' (2004), novel * '' Some of Tim's Stories'' (2007), short stories

Autobiography

* ''Great Women Writers'',

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have bee ...

, S.E. Hinton, and

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

(Princeton NJ: Hacienda Productions, 1999), DVD video — autobiographical accounts by the three authors

Notes

References

External links

* * *
"Hinton, Susan Eloise"
in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
S. E. Hinton
at

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 ...

Authorities — with 17 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, S. E. 1948 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American women novelists American young adult novelists Margaret A. Edwards Award winners Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Tulsa alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women writers of young adult literature Novelists from Oklahoma Will Rogers High School alumni