E. L. Konigsburg
As a child
I was born in New York City, but we moved when I was still an infant. Except for a year and a half spent living in Youngstown, Ohio, I grew up in small towns in Pennsylvania. I graduated from high school in Farrell, Pennsylvania.
As an adult
I went to college at Carnegie Mellon University. I wanted to be a chemist at first, so I became one. I worked in a laboratory and went to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh; then I taught science at a private girls' school. I had three children and waited until all three were at school before I started writing. I now live on the beach in north Florida, and have five grandchildren.
As an artist
I have written numerous books for children, and felt both proud and courageous for being awarded the Newbery Medal. Courageous, in that after winning the medal, readers wrote to me that they liked books that took them to unusual places where they meet unusual people. This gave me the courage to write other books, such as The View From Saturday, that have more to them than meets the eye. When asked, I always give young writers just one word of advice; FINISH. FINISH says a lot: the difference between being a person with talent and being a writer is the ability to apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair and FINISH. Even when the next word, the next thought, doesn't seem to come, you stay until it does.
Things you didn't know about E. L. Konigsburg
- Things that make me feel bad: eating too much chocolate, reading trash, and letting dust balls gather under the sofa.
- Things that make me feel good: eating too much chocolate, reading trash, and letting dust balls gather under the sofa.
- I am very serious about chocolate.
- My three children, and two of my grandchildren, have posed for various characters in my books.