The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Rosemont College professor, Erin Entrada Kelly wins Newbery Medal for ‘Hello, Universe’
to come into her mind when she is driving.
“I get a picture in my head of the character and I build a story,” said Kelly, 40, who also likes to draw and doodled a cute lion during a recent interview.
“Some days I don’t write at all and on other days I write for a lot of hours,” she said. “I don’t keep a set schedule. I’ve tried to but it feels too much like homework. I have to do it whenever I feel inspired. I have to be in the mood. Luckily I’m often in the mood to write.”
Kelly reads “everything from picture books to adult fiction” and “a lot of nonfiction.” She enjoys historical tomes and, when she is writing, she will read nonfiction rather than fiction so her fictional voice is not affected.
Some of her favorite books include “The One and Only Ivan,” by Katherine Applegate; All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr; and “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel.
Kelly writes in rented cooffice space in Media because she does not like to be alone while she’s working.
“I get unnerved by silence,” Kelly said.
He dad, who grew up in Kansas, was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War and met her mother there. After their divorce, her mom returned to the Philippines, Kelly said. Her daughter, Carolanne, who she raised mostly as a single parent, is in college in Vermont.
Kelly, a Haverford resident, teaches Contemporary Issues in Children’s Literature at Rosemont College. She also teaches courses at the Rosemont Writer’s Studio. Kelly also enjoys visiting schools and going on book tours.
“I love talking to kids,” she said.
The John Newbery Medal is the highest honor given to children’s books and is awarded by the American Library Association. Past winners include Madeline L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson.
For more information: www.erinentradakelly.com