Francesca Lia Block facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Francesca Lia Block
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| Born | December 3, 1962 Los Angeles, California, US |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Period | 1989–present |
| Notable awards | Margaret Edwards Award 2005 |
| Children | 2 |
Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer. She writes books for both adults and young adults. She is famous for her Weetzie Bat series of books. She started writing these books when she was a student at UC Berkeley.
Contents
Early Life and School
Francesca Lia Block was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1962. Her mother was a poet, and her father was a screenwriter and painter named Irving Block. She went to North Hollywood High School. Later, she studied at the University of California, Berkeley. She also earned a special degree from the University of California at Riverside.
Her Writing Journey
Francesca Lia Block writes both novels and poetry. Her first two books, Moon Harvest (1978) and Season of Green (1979), were collections of poetry. These early books are now hard to find. Since then, she has published many poetry collections. She also includes poems and song lyrics in her novels. She has written over 40 books in total.
Block became a successful writer partly because publishers were interested in her shorter books. In 2014, she became a special writer at Pasadena City College. She is also a member of important groups for writers, like the Authors Guild.
In 2018, it was announced that her book Weetzie Bat would become a movie. Justin Kelly was chosen to direct it. Francesca Lia Block herself wrote the script for the film.
Block is well-known for how she uses vivid descriptions in her writing. She often describes the city of Los Angeles in a unique way. One critic from The New York Times Book Review said she writes about Los Angeles better than almost anyone else.
How She Writes
Francesca Lia Block thinks her books are a type of writing called magical realism. This is where magical things happen in a realistic world. She has said that writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende have greatly influenced her. She also gets ideas from the poet Emily Dickinson. Many of her books are for young adults. However, she has also written books for adults, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry.
Her Life Today
Francesca Lia Block has a son and a daughter. She lives in Los Angeles, where she grew up.
Awards and Recognition
Francesca Lia Block has won several important awards for her writing:
- 2005: She received the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award. This award is given for a writer's important and lasting contribution to young adult literature. She won it for her first five Weetzie Bat books.
- 2009: Her book Weetzie Bat won the Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association. This award honors the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was first published.
