Meg Rosoff: So When Are You Going to Write a Real Book, You Know, For Adults?

Meg Rosoff, the award winning author of THERE IS NO DOG, PICTURE ME GONE, and HOW I LIVE NOW (soon to be a feature film), is the opening keynote of the SCBWI Winter Conference. Which, by the way, has an amazing title: So When Are You Going to Write a Real Book, You Know, For Adults?

Meg is hilarious--starting off by uttering the words that many authors cringe when hearing: "If all else fails, I'll write a kid's book" or "If I had time, I'd write a kid's book." And then Meg mentioned some of the people she would punch in the face (if only in her imagination).

The entire room erupted in hysterical laughter as Meg read from such classics as IF ROAST BEEF COULD FLY by Jay Leno and FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E.L. James.

Meg is a highly acclaimed author, but her journey is fascinating and inspiring. She talked of failure, of bad reviews, and of writing. Meg discussed the stigma that sometimes comes along with writing for children.



When asked by students about the best book she's ever read, Meg replies that the best books she's  read were read before her twenties. Because as a teenager, she was at the exact right age to have her life changed by books. Meg read from an email that she received from a reader, and it's the reason she writes for teenagers. 

Some people think of young readers as lesser versions of adults. They don't get it. As an author, you must write truthfully. You shouldn't apologize for writing for teens or children! You're writing about the emerging people your readers will become. And you're changing lives.