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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[9]
Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.[10] One New York Times Book Review critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler."[11]
Writing style and genres
Block sees her books as being in the tradition of magical realism, and she has said that she was heavily influenced by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende,[12] as well as Emily Dickinson.[3] She has been compared to S.E. Hinton because of themes like sex, death, drugs, and broken homes that occur in her works.[3] Many of her books have been categorized as young adult fiction, but Block has also written adult fiction, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry.[13][14]
Personal life
Block has a son and a daughter.[3][6] She lives in Los Angeles.[15]
Awards and nominations
1996: Baby Be-Bop was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult/Children's Book
