American author
Nina LaCour is an American author, primarily known for writing young adult literature with queer, romantic story lines.
[1] Her novel We Are Okay won the
Printz Award in 2017.
[2]
Early life and education
LaCour was born in 1983
[1] in and raised in the San Francisco Bay area.
[3] Her family instilled in her an appreciation for the arts and education: "her grandmother taught china painting classes; her father was a teacher and then school principal; and her mother taught high school art."
[3]
She attended
Campolindo High School and graduated in 2000.
[4] She received her bachelor's degree from
San Francisco State University and a
master of fine arts in creative writing from
Mills College .
[3]
[5]
Career
LaCour's first novel,
Hold Still , was the result of her master's thesis while at Mills College.
[3] Also while there, LaCour began teaching English composition to undergraduate students.
[3] Following graduation, she taught at
Berkeley City College and
Maybeck High School before taking a few years off to care for her daughter.
[3]
At present, LaCour teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults program at
Hamline University .
[6]
Personal life
LaCour currently lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.
[3]
Selected works
Hold Still (2009)
Hold Still is a young adult novel published October 20, 2009 by
Dutton Children's Books .
The book received the following accolades:
Everything Leads to You (2014)
Everything Leads to You is a young adult novel published May 15, 2014
Dutton Children's Books .
The book is a
Junior Library Guild selection
[10] and has received the following accolades:
We Are Okay (2017)
We Are Okay is a young adult novel published February 14, 2017, by
Dutton Children's Books .
TIME added the book to its "100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time" list,
[14] and
Bustle named it one of the best books of the decade.
[15]
The Boston Globe ,
[16]
Publishers Weekly ,
[17] and
Seventeen
[18] named it one of the best books of the year.
We Are Okay received various accolades, including the following:
Watch Over Me (2020)
Watch Over Me is a young adult novel published September 15, 2020, by
Dutton Children's Books .
The
New York Public Library ,
[22]
Chicago Public Library ,
[23]
Buzzfeed ,
[24] and
Kirkus
[25] named it one of the best young adult books of the year.
The book received various accolades, including the following:
Yerba Buena (2022)
Yerba Buena is LaCour's first book of adult fiction. The novel has "themes of drug and sexual abuse, death, abandonment, and purposelessness"
[28] but is ultimately the story of "two star-crossed young women navigating trauma, family, and romance".
[1]
The New York Times reviewed the book and called it a "sensory feast".
[29]
The Apartment House on Poppy Hill (2023)
LaCour's 2023 book The Apartment House on Poppy Hill , illustrated by Sonia Albert, was shortlisted for the 2024
Lambda Literary Award for Children's Literature .
[30]
Publications
References
^
a
b
c McQuiston, Casey (June 13, 2022).
"Nina LaCour On 'Yerba Buena,' Writing Queer Love Stories, & YA Vs. Adult Fiction" .
Bustle . Retrieved December 24, 2022 .
^
a
b Morales, Macey (February 12, 2018).
" 'We Are Okay' wins 2018 Printz Award" . American Library Association . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"About Nina" . Nina LaCour . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^ McMahon, Regan (March 8, 2018).
"Voice of youth: Author Nina LaCour honored for her YA fiction" . San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved January 3, 2023 .
^ Comerford, Lynda Brill (December 21, 2009).
"Fall 2009 Flying Starts: Nina LaCour" . Publishers Weekly . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Creative Writing Programs - Faculty and Staff -" . Hamline University . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Hold Still | Awards & Grants" . American Library Association . January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"YALSA's 2010 Literary Award Winners" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"hold still | Awards & Grants" . American Library Association . January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour" . Junior Library Guild . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Everything Leads to You" . Goodreads . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
a
b
"Everything Leads To You" . YALSA Book Finder . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Everything Leads To You | Awards & Grants" . American Library Association . December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"The 100 Best YA Books of All Time" . Time . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^ Colyard, K.W. (December 18, 2019).
"The Best Books Of The 2010s, According To 30 Of The Decade's Debut Authors" . Bustle . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Best children's and YA books of 2017" . The Boston Globe . December 8, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Best Books 2017 Publishers Weekly" . Publishers Weekly . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^ Orenstein, Hannah (January 16, 2018).
"28 of the Best YA Books of 2017" . Seventeen . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2017 . January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2022 – via Booklist.
^
"We are okay | Awards & Grants" . American Library Association . February 16, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"2018 Rainbow List" . Rainbow Book List . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Best Books for Teens 2020" . The New York Public Library . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Best Teen Fiction of 2020" . Chicago Public Library . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^ Penn, Farrah.
"The Best YA Books Of 2020" . BuzzFeed . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"Best of 2020" . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"2021 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^
"2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults" . Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) . January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022 .
^ Hynek, Julia (June 11, 2022).
" 'Yerba Buena' Review: Understated, Bittersweet, Brilliant" .
The Harvard Crimson . Retrieved December 24, 2022 .
^ Harlan, Jennifer (May 31, 2022).
"Love and Trauma in the Wilds of California" .
The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved December 24, 2022 .
^
"Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards" .
them. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2024 .
External links
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