Janet McDonald

For the American mathematician, see Janet McDonald (mathematician).
Janet McDonald
Janet McDonald in Paris in 2006
Janet McDonald in Paris in 2006
Born(1953-08-10)August 10, 1953
Brooklyn, U.S.
DiedApril 11, 2007(2007-04-11) (aged 53)
Paris, France
OccupationAttorney, Author
EducationVassar College (AB)
Columbia University (MS)
New York University (JD)
GenreYoung adult fiction, Memoir

Janet McDonald (August 10, 1953 – April 11, 2007)[1] was an American writer of young adult novels as well as the author of Project Girl, a memoir about her early life in Brooklyn's Farragut Houses and struggle to achieve an Ivy League education. Her best known children's book is Spellbound, which tells the story of a teenaged mother who wins a spelling competition and a college scholarship. The book was named as one of the American Library Association's eighty-four Best Books for Young Adults in 2002.[2] In 2003, her novel Chill Wind won her the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.[3]

In addition to books, McDonald also wrote articles for publications such as Slate, including one in which she paid psychic Sylvia Browne $700 for a telephone reading.[4] McDonald was a member of Mensa, the high IQ society.[5][6]

Biography

After graduating from Vassar (1977), Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1984), and New York University Law School (1986),[citation needed] McDonald practiced law in New York City (1986–89) and Seattle (1989–91).[7] She took a position as an intern at a Paris law firm (1991–93) before moving to Olympia, Washington, to work in the Attorney General's office and teach French language classes at Evergreen State College.[8] McDonald settled in Paris in 1995 to work first as an international attorney and then as a writer, until she died of cancer in 2007.[9][10]

Bibliography

Books

  • — (1999). Project Girl. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-23757-3. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2003). Spellbound. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Puffin Books. ISBN 0-14-250193-X. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2003). Twists and Turns. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-40006-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2004). Brother Hood. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-30995-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2006). Chill Wind. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-41183-2. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2006). Harlem Hustle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-37184-9. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2007). Off-Color. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 978-0-374-37196-8. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  • — (2004). Skin Deep (Anthology) "Zebra Girl". Puffin Books. ISBN 978-0141315058. Retrieved July 12, 2014. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  • — (2011). Paris Was Ours (Anthology) "Just Another American". Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-56512-953-5. Retrieved July 12, 2014. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)

Articles

  • "Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet". Horn Book Magazine. 81 (6): 747–750. November–December 2005. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  • "X-Patriate". Literary Review. 47 (1): 58–62. Fall 2003.
  • "Double Life". Literary Review. 45 (4): 679–685. Summer 2002.
  • "Educating Janet". Teacher Magazine. 10 (4): 46–52. January 1999.
  • "Booklist Interview". Booklist. 98 (12): 1026. February 15, 2002.
  • "A Sister in Paris". Essence. 25 (1): 54. May 1994.
  • "Crystal bawl". Slate. January 8, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  • "Black like (white) me". Slate. August 24, 1998. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  • "A dime bag for the schoolgirl". Slate. February 4, 1999. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  • "Project Girls". The Village Voice. January 16, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2014.

Quotes

  • "Freedom is ... not about nothing left to lose, it's about nothing left to be; you don't have to be anything."[11]
  • "Paris is where I became possible. It's where I became free."[5]

References

  1. ^ Ross-Stroud, Catherine (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. Scarecrow Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780810863569.
  2. ^ "2002 Best Books for Young Adults". American Library Association. 29 September 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present | Coretta Scott King Roundtable". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  4. ^ "Articles by Janet McDonald". Slate. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Powers, Retha (May 1, 2007). "Janet McDonald 1953-2007: make some noise for the Project Girl". Black Issues Book Review. The Free Library. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  6. ^ Project Girl, p. 183, 1st edn.
  7. ^ Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. Scarecrow Press. pp. xi–xii. ISBN 9780810863569.
  8. ^ Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. Scarecrow Press. pp. xii. ISBN 9780810863569.
  9. ^ Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. Scarecrow Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 9780810863569.
  10. ^ "Janet McDonald".The Brown Bookshelf.2010.
  11. ^ Americans in Paris, a 2000 episode of This American Life, featuring McDonald.

Further reading

  • Catherine Ross-Stroud. "Urban Hip-Hop Fiction: Janet McDonald", Tarshia Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of Hip-Hop Literature, Greenwood Press, 2008.