Francesca Lia Block
American writer (born 1963)
Francesca Lia Block | |
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| Born | (1962-12-03) December 3, 1962 (age 61) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Period | 1989–present |
| Notable awards | Margaret Edwards Award 2005 |
| Children | 2[1] |
Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the Weetzie Bat series,[2] which she began while a student at UC Berkeley.
Early life
Block was born in Los Angeles in 1962. Her mother was a poet and her father was the screenwriter and painter Irving Block.[3] She attended the University of California, Berkeley.[4], and later studied for her MFA from the University of California at Riverside.[5]
Career
Block writes both novels and poetry. Her first two books, Moon Harvest (1978) and Season of Green (1979), were small-press illustrated poetry collections, now out of print. Since then, she has released several standalone collections of poetry, as well as incorporating poetry and lyrics into many of her novels. She has published over 40 books.[5]
Block did not originally start out with an editor, but was published by using her connections. She attributed her success partly to publishers being interested in shorter books.[6]
In 2014, Block was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College.[7] Block is a member of the Authors Guild, Authors League of America, and the Writers Guild of America.
In 2018, it was confirmed that Weetzie Bat would be produced as a feature film, with Justin Kelly attached as director. Block wrote the screenplay for the film.[8]
Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.[9] One New York Times Book Review critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler."[10]
Personal life
Block has a son and a daughter.[3][5]
Awards and nominations
- 1996: Baby Be-Bop was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult/Children's Book
- 2001: Dangerous Angels was inducted into the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Hall of Fame
- 2005: American Library Association (ALA) Margaret A. Edwards Award for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature" for the first five Weetzie Bat books.[11]
- 2009: Weetzie Bat won the Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association as the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published.[12]
Bibliography
Weetzie Bat, or Dangerous Angels series
| Omnibus editions[13]
|
- Standalone novels
- Ecstasia (1993)
- The Hanged Man (1994)
- Primavera (1994)
- I Was A Teenage Fairy (1998)
- Violet and Claire (1999)
- The Rose and the Beast (2000)
- Echo (2001)
- Wasteland (2003)
- Ruby (2006)
- Psyche In A Dress (2006)
- Blood Roses (2008)
- Quakeland (2008)
- The Waters and the Wild (2009)
- Pretty Dead (2009)
- The Frenzy (2010)
- House of Dolls (2010)
- The Elementals (St. Martin's Press, 2013)
- Love in the Time of Global Warming (2013)
- Teen Spirit (2014)
- The Island of Excess Love (2014)
- Beyond the Pale Motel (2014)
- My Miserable Life (2016), as F.L. Block
- Lost Children (2021), audiobook
House Of Hearts (Rare Bird Books, 2022)
Collections
| Non-fiction and other
|
See also
Portals:
Children's literature
Speculative fiction
Los Angeles
References
- ^ Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (August 22, 2013). "Francesca Lia Block and her post-apocalyptic year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
- ^ Dinitia Smith (2005-05-23). "Writing Frankly, Young-Adult Author Pushes Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ^ a b Rogers, John (December 2, 2005). "Weetzie Bat is back, and grown up, as her creator confronts middle age". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Hotaling, Debra (November 14, 1999). "The Scribe of Shangri-La". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ a b c Romanoff, Zan (May 7, 2018). "Francesca Lia Block is a Lot More than Weetzie Bat". Literary Hub. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "JUST WRITE: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK". www.loveispop.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ^ Hillary. "Francesca Lia Block - About". www.francescaliablock.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-07-11). "Anya Taylor-Joy, Nick Robinson & Sasha Lane Star In 'Weetzie Bat' Film Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
- ^ Carolyn Kellogg (2012-03-12). "Francesca Lia Block takes her mortgage woes public". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ^ Francesca Lia Block (2011-10-25). "Author Francesca Lia Block on Occupy Wall Street: Meditations in the Dark". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ^ "2005 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
"Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-10. - ^ a b "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"[permanent dead link]. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
See also the current homepage "Phoenix Award" Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine. - ^ Francesca Lia Block at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
External links
Library resources about
Francesca Lia Block
Francesca Lia Block
- Resources in your library
- Resources in other libraries
By Francesca Lia Block
- Resources in your library
- Resources in other libraries
- Official website
- Francesca Lia Block at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Francesca Lia Block at IMDb
- Weetzie Bat Screenplay Reading
- Save Francesca's Faerie Cottage
- Francesca Lia Block at Library of Congress Authorities — with 38 catalog records
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