KL Going

KL Going (born August 21, 1973)[1] is the award-winning author of numerous books for children and teens. Her first novel, Fat Kid Rules the World was named a Michael Printz Honor Book [2] by the American Library Association, and was included on YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults list and their list of Best Books for the Past Decade. Her books have been Booksense picks, Scholastic Book Club choices, Junior Library Guild selections, NY Public Library Best Books for the Teenage, and winners of state book awards. They've been featured by Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Children's Book Council as Best Books of the year. Her work has also been published in Korea, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain, and the UK, and her novel Fat Kid Rules the World is now an independent film. It premiered at the SXSW film festival and won an Audience Award.

BornKelly Louise Going
(1973-08-21) August 21, 1973
Rhinebeck, New York, USA
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1973–present
GenreFiction for children and young adults (YA fiction)
Subjectauthor
Notable awardsMichael Printz Honor
SpouseDustin Adams
ChildrenAshton Paul
RelativesWilliam and Linda Going
Website
klgoing.com

K.L. began her career working at Curtis Brown, Ltd., one of the oldest literary agencies in New York City. She used this inner knowledge of publishing to write Writing and Selling the Young Adult Novel—a how-to book for aspiring writers, published by Writer's Digest. She has also written short stories for several anthologies and multiple picture books.

Biography

Going was born in Rhinebeck, New York.[1] Her mother, Linda Going, is a librarian and her father, William Going, is a biologist. She was raised on the Borden Estate in Wallkill, New York. She wrote her first (unpublished) novel in high school and continued writing as a hobby throughout college. Going attended Eastern University in St. David's, PA as a sociology major and graduated at the top of her class. After graduation, she did volunteer service with Mennonite Central Committee in New Orleans, LA, teaching adult literacy. When she returned to New York she began working in publishing for the literary agency, Curtis Brown, Ltd. After her first novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, was published she left the agency to write part-time. In addition to writing, she managed an independent bookstore in Cold Spring, NY for the Merritt Bookstore.

In the course of her writing career, Going has published three young adult novels, plus three novels for middle grade readers age 8 – 12, a picture book, and a reference book titled Writing and Selling the YA Novel published by Writer's Digest.[3] She also has additional picture books and novels under contract. Going's books have been published by Penguin Random House, Harcourt Houghton Mifflin, Simon & Schuster, and Writer's Digest. and have won many awards and honors. Her books have been produced as audio books, made into a feature film, and the rights have been optioned for television and Broadway. She has also written short stories for several anthologies, including Rush Hour Volume 3, Full House, and No Such Thing as the Real World.

In addition to her writing, KL Going also teaches workshops for the Highlights Foundation, speaks at schools and libraries around the country, participates in Skype visits with schools around the world, and teaches language arts part-time at a private school in upstate New York called the Homestead School.

Young adult fiction
  • Fat Kid Rules the World (2003) tells the story of a 296-pound teenager, Troy, who is befriended by local guitar legend Curt MacCrae. Curt insists they form a band and Troy will be their drummer, only Troy doesn't know how to play the drums.
  • Saint Iggy (2006) is the story of Iggy Corso who is kicked out of school for allegedly threatening a teacher. He finds himself seeking to do something good in order to change others' minds about him.
  • King of the Screw Ups (2009) is the humorous tale of Liam Gellar who is kicked out of his home and forced to move in with his glam-rocking, cross-dressing uncle. Determined to get back in his father's good graces, Liam resolves to do better in school and not fall prey to the insidious popularity that has continuously been his downfall. However, even when he tries to screw up, he screws up.[4]

Middle grade fiction
  • The Liberation of Gabriel King (2005) is a historical fiction novel set in 1976 about Gabriel King and his best friend Frita Wilson who set out to conquer all their fears over the course of one summer.
  • The Garden of Eve (2007) is a novel mixing magic with real life to create a story exploring grief, healing, and growth.
  • Pieces of Why (2016) After a shooting in her neighborhood, Tia seeks the truth about the crime that sent her father to prison years ago.

Picture books
  • Dog In Charge (2012) Find out what happens when Dog is left in charge of five wily cats.
  • Pablo the Poet (publishing date unknown) Explores how the poetry of Pablo Neruda made the ordinary extraordinary.
  • Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump (2017) Rhythm, sounds, and fun!
  • Can't Stop Kissing That Baby (publishing date unknown) Moms around the world sure love their babies!
  • The Shape of the World (2017) Inspired by the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, this book looks at how the world around us is made up of many shapes.

Movie adaptation

Fat Kid Rules the World was screened at South by Southwest, winning the Audience Award for Narrative Spotlight.[5] Acclaimed actor Matthew Lillard directed the film. The movie script was written by Michael Galvin and Peter Speakman. The film starred Jacob Wysocki as Troy, Matt O'Leary as Curt/Marcus, Billy Campbell as Mr. Billings, Dylan Arnold as Dayle, and Lili Simmons as Isabel.[6][7] The film was scored by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and shot on location in Seattle, Washington.

Works
  • Fat Kid Rules the World (2003) – Honor Book for the annual Michael L. Printz Award
  • The Liberation of Gabriel King (2005)
  • Saint Iggy (2006)
  • The Garden of Eve (2007)
  • Writing and Selling the Y.A. Novel (2008)
  • The King of Screw Ups (2009)
  • Dog In Charge (2012)
  • Pieces of Why (2016)
  • Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety Thump (2017)
  • The Shape of the World (2017)

References
  1. "Bio & FAQ". K.L. Going (klgoing.com). Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  3. F&W's publication, Where to find Writing and Selling the YA Novel
  4. Inside the Outsiders
  5. "All SXSW 2012 awards". Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
  6. http://fatkidrulesthemovie.com/
  7. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1995304/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.