Photo by Bob Rosenfeld
Visit Leda's Website:
http://www.ledaschubert.com/
Authors Among Us - Children's Writers Who Are or Who Have Been Librarians
| Photo by Bob Rosenfeld
|
Leda
Schubert Visit Leda's Website: http://www.ledaschubert.com/ |
| Authors Among Us - Children's Writers Who Are or Who Have Been Librarians |
|
Featured Titles by Vermont
author Leda Schubert
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Here Comes Darrell Illustrated by Mary Azarian ISBN 0618416056 Published by Houghton Mifflin, October 2005 |
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Winnie All Day
Long Illustrated by William Benedict Paperback slipcase: ISBN 0-7636-0774-6 Published by Candlewick Press Purchase this book from Amazon.com Also available in hardcover: ISBN 0-7636-1041-0 |
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Winnie Plays
Ball Illustrated by William Benedict Paperback slipcase: ISBN 0-7636-0673-1 Published by Candlewick Press Purchase this book from Amazon.com Also available in hardcover: ISBN 0-7636-1040-2 |
| Find out more
about Leda and her books at Candlewick: http://www.brandnewreaders.com Click on "Librarians" or "Teachers" and then on "About the creators of the series," and then on "Leda Schubert." |
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| What influenced you to become a
librarian?
My love of children's literature, and the desire to connect children with books. Do you have a library/information science degree? No MLS. I am licensed as a school librarian in
Vermont
and have an M.A.T. in English from Harvard. I took graduate level
courses
from the University of Vermont and elsewhere to receive my
licensure. I also have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young
Adults from Vermont College. What kinds of library positions have you held and where? School librarian, Cabot School, a K-12 public school in Cabot,
Vt. How long have you been a librarian? From 1980 until 2005. Are you currently working as a librarian? No, I was the school library-media consultant
for the Vermont Department of Education; working with books,
technology,
and with librarians, but not with children. Now, I write full
time and do some consulting work. Do you plan to continue in the profession? Yes. Which came first in your life, your career as a librarian or writing for children? I've written (unpublished) since high school. First published book came after I had been a librarian for a bunch of years. Did your library work have anything to do with becoming a children's writer? It did expand enormously my knowledge of the field of children's literature, perhaps inspiring me to write more. Did your library work directly influence your work as an author? Definitely expanded knowledge. I see and review almost everything published for children in my capacity as school library consultant. We also have statewide book award committees that I serve on (the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for grades 4-8 and the Red Clover award for grades K-4.), so I have to read even more for those committees. Also, my work with early literacy in the Department of Ed pushed me towards writing for beginning readers. Did incidents from your library work
ever
make it into your books? What are the greatest benefits of being a librarian to you as a writer? Knowing the field so well; knowing what kids like; being committed to making children into readers, knowing people in the field. Are there any drawbacks to being a librarian and also a writer? No time to write! If you write while working as as librarian, how do you manage the time-juggling act? See above. I had very little time to write, since in addition to working I needed to read everything published. I wrote in the car, in the bathroom, and during boring meetings. Do you find any conflicts or job-related difficulties in being both a writer and a librarian? No conflict. Do you feel that librarianship has specific benefits to you as a writer? See above -- knowing the field. Also there's the
major
advantage of knowing people within the field - publishers, editors,
librarians
across the country, writers. It helps with inspiration! Forthcoming Books: |
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Last Updated March 7, 2006