The Vindicator Journalism Workshop Prize-Winners

Wednesday
Underachiever Achieves Big
Amanda Smith
Hubbard High School

Underachievers everywhere—take heed of Christopher Paul Curtis.

“I’ve been an overachiever all my life,” said Curtis.

The Newbery Medal and Golden Kite winner spoke at YSU’s English Festival April 21. The English Festival is open to students in grades 7 to 12. About 3000 students attend the three-day event.

Curtis spoke at one of the sessions offered in the Festival, the Vindicator Journalism workshop.

Curtis told of his career and offered insights into his profession to the eleven students in the Workshop. He also talked about his first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, which will soon be a made-for-TV movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Daman Wayans.

Curtis said he felt “ambivalent” toward the movie production because he “had rarely seen a movie anything like or near the book it’s based on.” But that does not keep him from making plans for further books.

“I have so much fun when I write that I feel like a criminal because I enjoy what I do so much,” he said.

He encouraged others to find the love of writing for themselves.

“Write every day,” he said. “Just get in the habit of putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard. You don’t have to learn to love it because if you love it, you’ll do it.”

Curtis held a number of positions throughout his life before becoming a writer. His job titles ranged from factory worker to campaign manager. “And I hated every one of them,” he said.

Curtis is a native of Flint, Michigan. He draws some of his inspiration and ideas from his childhood experiences in Flint. One chapter of Watsons described the aspirations of a young pyromaniac. This chapter is an autobiographic sketch.

“Though my mom put a guide bolt to that. As in the book, I never knew she was that strong,” Curtis said.

Curtis’s upcoming book, Bud, Not Buddy, is also set in Flint. The story follows the journey of a young orphan in the Great Depression, trying to find a man he believes to be his father.

“As a writer, you have a great advantage over your readers,” he said. “You have so many techniques to use to keep the reader turning the pages.”

Curtis ended his conference with the young journalists by describing the difference writing has made in his lifestyle.

His son, age 20, was accustomed to seeing his father work a steady job from morning to night and accepting that as work.

“Now, my daughter, who is seven, sees me at home writing most of the time,” he said. “When we go somewhere and people ask, ‘What does your daddy do for a living?’ she says, ‘Nothing.’”

The plight of the Japanese Americans is not well known. It is a story, however, that the leaders of tomorrow are anxious to learn. On April 21, Lloyd Kajikawa, an educational specialist from the Japanese-American National Museum, spoke to high school students at the YSU English Festival about Japanese-American history.

Kajikawa, a former social studies teacher with a masters degree in educational administration, has been  part of the museum for four years.

Kajikawa spoke about many aspects of Japanese-American history, ranging from the early immigration during the late nineteenth century to the imprisonment of these people during the Second World War.

This imprisonment, according to Kajikawa, was the culmination of a long history of discrimination. Before Executive Order 1066 and the subsequent “concentrating” of over 100,000 Japanese Americans, Japanese Americans were denied basic rights of citizenship. The imprisonment, while not physically abusive, was the zenith, or in this case, the low point, of the persecution.

“Japanese Americans began to become a threat to agriculture in California,” said Kajikawa. This, along with “war hysteria,” was the reason for the imprisonment, according to Kajikawa.

Kajikawa went on to detail some Japanese-American military units involved in the war. These included the 442nd regimental combat team to the Japanese Americans who worked to break secret Japanese communications.

This story “is a story still untold and unknown,” said Kajikawa. According to Kajikawa, “The story of America is not fully told until everyone’s story is told.”

Kajikawa finished this story to a round of applause from the students.

Today Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, spoke at YSU to a group of young students at the English Festival.

Curtis’s book is used in schools around the United States.

“I just look at the funny side of things,” Curtis said.

His first book was published in 1995. It was dedicated to four little girls who died in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Curtis has been married to his wife, Kay, for 22 years. He has a 20-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter. He grew up in Flint, Michigan, and now lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

When Curtis was ready for his first job, he wasn’t accepted to work in a store because he was African American. He had a variety of jobs before becoming a writer.

Curtis’s wife helped him with business and support. His son also helped by typing the book.

Curtis has a new book, Bud, Not Buddy, coming out in September.

His advice to new writers or people who want to become famous authors is to “write every day.”

Most young adults read books and sometimes don’t even know the author. English Festival participants not only met author Christopher Paul Curtis, but they also met a person behind the scenes.

Jennifer Flannery, owner of Flannery Literary, is a literary agent. She is the link between an author and a publisher. Agents deal with business details and payments so the writer can concentrate on writing.

Flannery majored in English and journalism. She started as a secretary for a literary agent. Wanting more, she left.

Flannery knew it was a risk, but she decided to start her own agency. Her first customer was the famous Gary Paulsen.

Flannery says that the most important demand of being a literary agent is to be objective. An agent has to care about the characters and plot of a book as much as the author.

When asked about working hours, Flannery said that she works from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., although she might wake up at 5:00 a.m. to read a manuscript or she might get fed up with her work and take her dog for a walk.

“Writing is a very emotional business. They [the authors] take it very personally,” said Flannery. She looks for good writing with an unusual artistic touch. The story needs a great subject.

When asked about goals, she said that she hopes to find fresh, new writers. Her business began seven years ago. She hopes to meet her clients’ demands and to help their careers go far.

When Christopher Paul Curtis discovered that his book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, had been selected as a YSU English Festival book, he felt special. He considered it an honor to be included with great authors who have previously had books chosen for the Festival.

Curtis wrote Watsons when his wife, Kay, convinced him to take a year off work to write a book. She had seen his writing in letters he had written to her, and she had faith he could successfully write a book.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 is a young adult book about the “weird Watsons” told by 10-year-old Kenny. Kenny’s brother, Byron, is an “official juvenile delinquent.”

Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide to take him to Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama, to straighten him up. Instead, they take him right into one of history’s darkest moments during the Civil Rights Movement.

Curtis spoke to several groups of kids during the English Festival held annually at YSU. He told them about himself and his books, and he offered suggestions for future writers.

When asked by a student how he chose his topics, Curtis said he  doesn’t actually choose his topics; topics choose him.

“You are like a god when you write,” he said, explaining how he can create or destroy people or worlds. He can do whatever he wants.

Curtis feels the highlight of his experience with writing Watsons was the time off work. It was a real gamble for him, living only on his wife’s salary. It was traumatic when his book was rejected.

This book has received many awards, including a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Award, and a designation as an ALA Notable Book for Young Adults.

Curtis doesn’t have an opinion of his book because he feels the author is the worst person to judge a book.

“I don’t plan where books are going,” said Curtis. When he sits down to write, he feels like he’s almost in a trance. He lets the characters dictate to him how the story will go. This method causes a lot of editing and proofreading, but it is still his favorite way to write.

In Watsons none of the characters are derived from people he knows. However, the chapter entitled “Nazi Parachutes Attack America and Get Shot Down over the Flint River by Captain Byron Watson and His Flame-thrower of Death” is based on an experience he had when he got in trouble for playing with matches.
Curtis chose Kenny as the narrator because he is honest and sensitive, unlike Byron, who is unreliable. Curtis’s overall theme in his book was to make readers understand the importance of family love. He mixed in some humor with the seriousness to keep the reader turning the pages.

Curtis was fairly old when he decided to be a writer about five years ago. Now he feels great when he thinks about himself as an award-winning author. Curtis never had much experience with creative writing in school, and he never liked to read books when he was young.

Even as a writer, Curtis still has time for his family. One of his favorite hobbies is to spend time with his wife, Kay, his 7-year-old daughter Sidney, and his 20-year-old son, Steven.

Literary agent Jennifer Flannery spoke to a group of students at the YSU English Festival. Students were given the opportunity to ask her questions at a press conference, Friday, April 23.

Flannery chose to be in the literary agency business for many reasons. She likes to read and loves the chance to represent authors. She becomes the matchmaker and pairs up the correct books with the correct publisher.

Authors write query letters or letters of introduction to their books or manuscripts. Flannery gets over 100 letters a week. Some of those go into a slush pile, which is for unsolicited manuscripts. After she reads the letters or manuscripts, she decides if she likes them. If she likes them, she matches them with a publisher. If she doesn’t like the book, she sends the author a rejection letter.

After the publisher gets a letter from Flannery, s/he offers to buy the book for about five to six thousand dollars. Flannery works out the contract so the author can make improvements to the book.

Flannery gets paid 15% on commission. She doesn’t always sell everything. In fact, she has gotten rejected a good share of times. Her favorite book, My Louisiana Sky written by Kimberly Willis Holt, was rejected 13 times before a publisher took it.

Flannery’s career began at the age of 25. She worked on an internship until she was offered a job as a receptionist. She fell in love with literary business. In 1992 she moved to New York City, where she worked for HarperCollins publishers until she got a “miracle call.”

The “miracle call” came from Gary Paulsen, who asked her to represent him. She took a risk and went out on her own, beginning Flannery Literary. She began with the cheapest computer and fax machine she could find. Flannery has had about 100 to 175 successes in 7 years.

Flannery’s advice to young writers is to read anything and everything they can every day. Get into the habit of writing for 5 minutes every day, too.

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