Kekla Magoon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kekla Magoon
Magoon at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
Born	1980 (age 44–45) Michigan, U.S.
Language	English
Alma mater	Vermont College of Fine Arts (MA) Northwestern University (BA)
Genre	Young adult fiction, middle grade fiction, short stories, non-fiction
Years active	1999–present
Notable works	How It Went Down X The Rock and the River The Season of Styx Malone
Notable awards	Walter Dean Myers Award (2016) Margaret A. Edwards Award (2021)

Kekla Magoon (born 1980) is an American author. She is well-known for her books written for young adults. Some of her famous works include The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, The Season of Styx Malone, and X. In 2021, she won the Margaret Edwards Award for all her books. She also writes novels for middle schoolers, short stories, and non-fiction books about history and society.

About Kekla Magoon

Kekla Magoon was born in Michigan and grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her mother is white American with Dutch and Scottish family roots. Her father is Black Cameroonian. This means she is biracial (from two different races). When she was a child, she lived in Cameroon for a few years.

Before becoming a writer, she worked for groups that help people in New York City. She studied History at Northwestern University. She focused on Africa and the Middle East. Later, she earned a master's degree in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She studied through a special program for children's writers.

Today, Magoon lives in Vermont. She also teaches writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Kekla Magoon's Books

Kekla Magoon says that all her novels show how regular kids can make a difference. Her stories often deal with important social issues.

The Rock and the River

Her first novel, The Rock and the River, came out in 2010. It is set in Chicago in 1968. The story is about a 13-year-old boy whose father supports Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent civil rights movement. However, his brother joins the Black Panther Party, a group that fought for Black rights. The book explores issues like social class, race, and poverty. Magoon spent a lot of time researching the Civil Rights Movement for this book. She has always loved history.

How It Went Down

Magoon wrote her fourth young adult novel, How It Went Down, after the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. She felt frustrated by how the news reported these events. So, she decided to write a fictional story. It shows what it would be like if someone you knew was killed. The book explores different viewpoints on such a tragic event.

X: A Novel

Magoon's sixth young adult novel, X, tells a fictional story about the early life of civil rights leader Malcolm X. She wrote this book with Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz. Shabazz chose Magoon as a co-writer because she liked Magoon's previous books and the topics she wrote about.

The Season of Styx Malone

Her seventh novel for middle schoolers is The Season of Styx Malone. It was published in 2018. The story is about three African American boys living in a small town in Indiana. They try to trade their little sister for fireworks. Magoon says she got the idea for the book from a real event. An ice cream parlor worker once told her about his father and uncle trying to trade their baby sister.

Until All Are Free

In 2019, it was announced that Magoon would publish a non-fiction young adult novel. This book is called Until All Are Free: The Black Panther Party's Call for Revolution. It explores the history and impact of the Black Panther Party.

Awards and Honors

Kekla Magoon has won many awards for her writing. Here are some of them: