Q&A with Lois Lowry, author of The Giver
Lois Lowry, a two-time Newbery Medalists for her children’s novels, is an American author, known for her novel The Giver, which was recently turned into a film. Lowry has written over 30 novels, but is nowhere near being finished with her works. Lowry currently resides in Maine, close to her children and grandchildren.
How did you get your start as an author?
I majored in writing in college and worked for some years as a photojournalist before turning my attention to fiction.
The Giver, which is incredible complex in its infrastructure, holds so many important lessons. If anyone were to take one piece of advice from the particular novel, what would it be?
The importance of weighing the trade-off when one makes compromises.
Where did you get the inspiration for The Giver? How long did it take you to complete The Giver?
Inspiration always comes from imagination triggered by events in real life. It took me about a year to write the book.
What went through your mind when you were approached about turning The Giver into a movie? Did you have any say in script writing?
They were very courteous in letting me know what was happening along the way, and allowing me to read and comment on scripts (many were written). But they had the final say in everything. I just hoped that they would do a good job. And although I disagreed with some of the choices they made, I was satisfied overall.
What do you deem as your greatest accomplishment?
My children and grandchildren.
In your biography on your website, you mentioned that you constantly scribbled stories in notebooks. Do you still have any of those stories and have any of those stories turned into novels?
No, my family moved very often and all of those early things were discarded along the way. Nothing I wrote when I was young made its way to finished work.
Are you working on anything new at the moment? If you are, care to give us a bit of a teaser?
I am always working on new things, but I don’t like to talk about them when they are in progress.
How would you describe your writing style?
Hmmmm. Lyrical, I hope.
Have your grandchildren read your books? If so, what do they think of them?
I think most of my grandchildren (I have four, and five step-grandchildren) have read most of my books, probably not all. I hope they liked them!
What is the most interesting experience you’ve had after your first book was published?
My first book (A Summer to Die) was a fictionalized account of the death of my sister when we were young. The most touching response was from a family who, after they lost their 17-year-old son, copied and framed a passage from that book–words that they found comforting.
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