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 in 1980) is an American author. She is well-known for her books for young adults and middle schoolers. 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 amazing books.

About Kekla Magoon

Kekla Magoon was born in Michigan. She grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her mother is white, and her father is Black Cameroonian. When she was a child, she lived in Cameroon for a few years.

Her Education and Career

Before becoming a writer, Magoon worked for non-profit groups in New York City. She studied History at Northwestern University. She also earned a master's degree in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. This special program helped her learn to write for children.

Magoon lives in Vermont today. She teaches writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Her Books and Stories

Kekla Magoon believes that all her novels show how regular kids can make a big difference. She writes about important topics in history and society.

The Rock and the River

Her first novel, The Rock and the River, came out in 2009. It takes place in Chicago in 1968. The story is about a 13-year-old boy. His father supports Martin Luther King Jr.'s peaceful civil rights movement. But his brother joins the Black Panther Party. The book explores ideas about fairness and poverty. Magoon spent a lot of time researching the civil rights movement.

How It Went Down

Magoon wrote her book How It Went Down after real-life events. It is about what happens after a Black teenager is shot. She wanted to show how such an event affects families and friends.

X

Her book X tells a fictional story about Malcolm X's younger years. Malcolm X was a famous civil rights activist. Magoon wrote this book with Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz.

The Season of Styx Malone

The Season of Styx Malone is a middle grade novel. It's about three African American boys in a small Indiana town. They trade their little sister for fireworks. Magoon based this funny story on a real event she heard about as a child.

Future Works

In 2019, it was announced that Magoon would publish a non-fiction book. It is about the history of the Black Panthers. The book is called Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People. It was published in 2021.

Awards and Honors

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