 |
| Photo by Amanda Murphy |
Lauren Gibaldi is the co-editor of the young adult anthology First-Year Orientation. Her other books include Battle of the Bands. She lives in Orlando, Florida.
Q: How did your book First-Year Orientation come about?
A: After Eric Smith and I completed our first anthology with Candlewick, Battle of the Bands, we were jazzed to do another one together. Like with Battle, we wanted to focus on a time in a teen's life that's memorable, that's huge, that's relatable.
So we came up with (or, more specifically, Eric's wife came up with!) the idea of college orientation. It's a day that's full of excitement, wonder, and so many nerves. We knew it would be relatable, especially when we started collecting the story ideas.
Q: What inspired your own story in the anthology?
A: "The Friends We Make Along the Way" focuses on Lily's day missing orientation because she's working at the campus bookstore. She's upset about missing out, about not being a part of this big experience. But she quickly realizes the day she has--and the friends she makes while working--is just as big, and just as important.
Fun fact 1--Lily is from Battle of the Bands. This takes place after our first anthology and while it's in no way a sequel, it does have a handful of fun references. Fun fact 2--I wrote my story after we compiled the rest of the book, so there's a reference to every other story in it!
Q: The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books said, “By turns realist and surrealist, funny and tender, these stories have something for any teen starting to think about college and will leave them with the reassurance that there's plenty of magic ahead.” What do you think of that description?
A: I think it's a super kind review! The book is all over the place--in the best possible way. I think every reader can find a favorite story, can relate to a story, or be inspired by a story. We have truly fantastic authors. And the book does show the different facets of starting (or, in one case, not starting) college - funny or sad or magical.
Q: How did you choose the order in which the stories would appear?
A: They're loosely chronological. There are some stories that go together, so we had to put them side by side. And then we also separated the stories that were slightly similar, so you didn't get - say - two ghost stories in a row.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a few projects I'm working on, but nothing official. Eric released his newest YA novel, With or Without You, and it's absolutely wonderful.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I love anthologies because they're a great way to try a bunch of authors at once. And we're lucky enough to have some top-tier authors. So try them out. Try our book out. And get ready for an unpredictable journey. :)
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment