Book Reviews and More: Gordon Korman Author Profile and Interview

Gordon Korman Author Profile and Interview

Gordon Korman is a Canadian born author who resides in New York since moving there for university. He has published 109 book not counting omnibus editions of some of his series. His works have been translated into over 30 languages. I have a dual form of dyslexia and did not read when I was young. I have now read and reviewed all of Korman’s works, and only one of them do I recall, Our Man Weston, I believe it was read to us in school at some point shortly after it published. As a family we started reading Korman’s works in 2019, a teacher has gifted a copy of Restart to the whole class at the end of the school year. As a family the kids and I started a Reading Challenge in 2016, and after reading Restart both my son and I wanted to work through all of Korman’s works. My son is now 17, and my youngest daughter 14 and they both still love Korman’s works. I reached out to see if Mr. Korman would answer 20 questions for the readers here at Books Reviews and More, so here in his own words, Gordon!

1. You wrote your first novel at age 12 and published it at age 14; at the time did you know that it was a beginning of a series?

I didn’t even know it was a novel. It was my grade 7 English assignment, and a pretty daunting one at that – to work on the same story for 4-5 months of school. I began to see it as a series pretty soon, though, since GO JUMP IN THE POOL and BEWARE THE FISH were both sequels. It wasn’t until I WANT TO GO HOME that I even considered a book that wasn’t about Bruno and Boots at Macdonald Hall.

2. Who were some of the biggest early supporters of your writing?

My parents, definitely. We were like a family business at the beginning. They had to co-sign my first contracts and drive me to my meetings and interviews.

3. What authors influenced your writing style and format?

I’m a big fan of the classic middle-grade genre that started in the 50s and 60s – Beverly Cleary, “The Great Brain,” “The Mad Scientists Club,” early Judy Blume. But I was also influenced by the antic 70s Disney-esque comedies I loved as a kid. Think of Don Knotts hanging from a flagpole above the town square.

4. What does your writing process look like? Takes us through the steps from idea to publishing?

I’ve been lucky to have been working with the same two editors for more than 25 years. I take every idea to one of them first and we hash out whether we think it can be a novel. From there, I create an outline and then it’s off to the races.

5. Some of your series are published over several years (Swindle); or almost 2 decades (Bruno and Boots aka Macdonald Hall), And some the whole series publishes in a single year (Titanic, Everest, Dive, or Island) What drives these differences?

“Island,” “Dive,” “Masterminds,” and the other trilogies – as well as “On The Run” (6 books) – were conceived of and planned as series from the very beginning. On the other hand, SWINDLE and THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL were stand-alone novels that became series as I wrote sequels. UNGIFTED will be the next example of that. It will become a trilogy when HYPERGIFTED comes out in January.

6. Is there any series you have written that you would just never return to?

Never say never, but I think it would be tough to return to Macdonald Hall today. I’m just so different than I was back then.

7. If you could bring one of your out of print books or series back into print for new audiences today which would it be? Why?

I’d love to see WHO IS BUGS POTTER? make a triumphant return. I feel like I was really learning to be a great plotter when I wrote that one.

8. In 1981 your won the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) award for most promising writer under 35. How did it feel at the time?

I was only 17, and I had this idea that 35 didn’t seem like a very young author to me. (I’ve changed my mind since then.)

9. I have read that you are a big football fan and have even been a season ticket holder for the New York Giants. Are you a fan of the Canadian Variety as well? Do you have a Canadian team your cheer for?

I’m a survivor of many Argos games, but I don’t really follow the CFL anymore. Mostly, I’m a long-suffering Leafs fan (although I’ve semi-adopted the Rangers, since it’s hard to root against your kids).

10. Several of your books have been optioned over the years, including No Coins, Please, I Want to Go Home, the Island trilogy and The Twinkie Squad. Born to Rock and Ungifted are listed on IMDB as in development. If you could pick any book or series to come to the big or small screen, which would it be.

I’m a huge fan of Aircraft Pictures’ “Go Jump In The Pool” – I thought they nailed the tone of Macdonald Hall perfectly. And Nickelodeon’s “Swindle” co-starred a very young Arianna Grande, which means I get to pretend I discovered her. But it’s hard to predict what film/TV projects have a chance. I have a wide range of books in development right now, from newer books like OLD SCHOOL back to NO COINS PLEASE from 1984. Personally, I’d love to see something happen with MASTERMINDS.

11. You co-wrote two volumes of poetry with your mother. Having read them I think they would be excellent for the classroom. What was it like writing with your mother? How was that process different than writing on your own?

My Mom was always the Poet Laureate of the family and the neighborhood. She’s still got a real knack for poetry and humor. So with the Jeremy Bloom books, we were a great team, since she was the poet and I was good with the kid/school-oriented topics I knew would interest young readers.

12. What was it like working on the 39 Clues Series and contributing pieces to at first a larger story then a series of stories?

I continue to value that as one of my coolest experiences as a writer. Rather than restricting me creatively, it taught me so much about finding my voice within the constraints of a pre-existing story.

13. Many of your books are available in electronic formats but with that comes bootleg distribution. What are your impressions of eBooks and the distribution of them through torrents and other illegal means?

It’s unfortunate, but I don’t worry about it too much. We in publishing have been very fortunate that electronic piracy hasn’t affected us the way it has turned the music industry on its head.

14. Some authors monitor torrent sites and contact them to remove their content. Do you do so are have someone do so for you?

No.

15. What were some of your favourite authors in your youth who helped shape you?

I’m a fan of the middle grade authors who created the genre in the 50s and 60s, like Beverly Cleary, John D. Fitzgerald, and a little later, Judy Blume. I also loved Farley Mowatt’s work for young readers in both the humor and adventure genres.

16. What are some of your favorite books and authors now?

I’ve always been a Kurt Vonnegut fan, but more recently, I’ve been really into Michael Chabon, James McBride, Jonathan Franzen, Barbara Kingsolver, and the mysteries written by J.K. Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

17. I once heard Madeleine L'Engle state that her characters were real to her and almost an extended part of her family, she said once that at the dinner table she sat up and stated "Meg just finished her PhD." Are your characters real to you, do you ever get glimpses of what they are up to now, or once you finish a book is that it?

I agree that characters can be incredibly real to an author, but I don’t usually take it farther than the timeline of the book. I wouldn’t speculate on whether Noah Youkilis or Elmer Drimsdale will be first to win a Nobel Prize, or if George Wexford Smythe III will ever be indicted for tax fraud.

18. I once had a university professor state that the true goal of a university education should be to teach one to learn how to think. What would you state should be the goal of higher education and why?

I agree, but I’d expand it beyond university to any learning experience. So much of my thinking was honed over the course of my almost 50 years of writing for kids.

19. If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have 10 books to read again and again, what books would you want with you?

The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be – Farley Mowatt

Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing – Judy Blume

The Giver – Lois Lowry

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets – J.K. Rowling

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut

Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

The Amazing Adventures Of Cavalier And Clay – Michael Chabon

The Heaven And Earth Grocery Store – Jame McBride

Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver

20. What advice would you give to young aspiring authors and artists?

Make writing a part of your life – something you do pretty much every day.

21. Bonus question: you do a lot to promote up and coming authors, who are some of your favorite Canadian authors who write in the children’s and young adult space?

Montreal-born Sarah Mlynowski has been a very successful writer in the kids’ field for decades, but, strangely, Canada doesn’t often claim her as our own. (She’s based out of LA these days.) And I’d hardly call him up-and-coming, but I’m a big fan of Kenneth Oppel. We first met when he was in his first year at U of T and I’d just graduated NYU.

Thank you Gordon for taking the time to answer those question, and for allowing me to post this on your 62 birthday. As you can see from the answers Korman is passionate about Books and has built his life around something he loves.

Note: Korman is the only author who I have read over 100 works from. An author friend calls me a completionist in that I find authors I love and read everything the published. Now I just need to track down all the works Korman Contributed to and add reviews of those to the list.

Books by Gordon Korman:

MacDonald Hall Series:

This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978)

Go Jump in the Pool (1979)

Beware the Fish! (1980)

The Wizzle War (1982)

(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)

The Zucchini Warriors (1988)

Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)

(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)

The Jokes on Us (1995)

(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)