Krystyna Poray Goddu
Dave Romero/vibrantimage.com
Krystyna Poray Goddu has been a writer and editor for more than thirty years; her books include Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play, and A Girl Called Vincent: A Biography of Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, both middle-grade nonfiction. Her writing for children has also appeared in American Girl magazine. She reviews and writes about children’s books for Publishers Weekly and The New York Times Book Review. In addition to her writing and editing experience, she has worked in school libraries and taught writing to middle-school students in independent schools in New York City. She holds a degree in comparative literature from Brown University.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery and the Betsy-Tacy books by Maude Hart Lovelace a close second (but that’s many books!)
What’s your favorite line from a book?
Impossible to choose one!
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Authors Rumer Godden and Madeleine L’Engle, illustrator Gabi Swiatkowska
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I loved reading books more than anything else from the moment I learned how to read. So it seemed only natural to create what I loved. In retrospect, I realize that not all readers assume they will become writers, but that’s how it was for me. I wrote my first “book” during free periods in third grade.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
That’s easy—read, write, read, write, read, write! And especially write. You can’t be a writer if you don’t write.
