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Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Blubber; Just as Long as We're Together; and the five book series about the irrepressible Fudge. She has also written three novels for adults, Summer Sisters; Smart Women; and Wifey, all of them New York Times bestsellers.
Blume received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other recognitions include the Library of Congress Living Legends Award, the 2004 National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2009 the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for her lifelong contributions to the field of children's literature.
She is the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation. She serves on the boards of the Author's Guild; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; the Key West Literary Seminar; and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Blume is a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom. Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980's she began to reach out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers.
Blume has completed a four book series -- The Pain & the Great One books -- for young readers, illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist James Stevenson. She and her husband George Cooper live on islands up and down the east coast. They have three grown children and one grandchild.
Judy Blume's website
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Let's start by talking about Forever. It's a book that has
meant a lot to many people. Did you ever harbor the fear that no one would care
about it?
No. Actually, it's the only book I ever wrote because someone asked me. My
fourteen-year-old daughter was reading a lot of books that equated sex with
punishment. She said, "Couldn't there ever be a book about two nice, smart kids
who do it, and nobody has to die?" I thought, yeah, we're not doing anybody any
favor by all of this sex linked with punishment. That's really why I wrote it.
The best books never grow from an outside influence. They come from deep inside
you, and you're telling this story because you have to tell this story. It's
always been strange to me that Forever is the book that everyone of a
certain age grew up with, and has a story to tell about it.
It certainly was a rite of passage. I believe that Forever was
many peoples' first experience with sex.
Well, I guess it's better to have your first sexual experience between the
covers of a book, then between the covers of a bed. It's better to read about it
first, then do it. I think a lot of people read about sex and satisfy their...
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