Acampora, Paul

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Acampora, Paul

Personal

Born in Bristol, CT; married; children: one son, one daughter. Education: University of Notre Dame, graduate. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, kayaking.

Addresses

Home—Quakertown, PA. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer, educator, and nonprofit administrator. St. Patrick Elementary School, West Oakland, CA, former kinder-garten teacher. Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown, PA, director of development.

Writings

Defining Dulcie, Dial Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of short fiction to Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy, edited by Nancy Mercado, Dial Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Sidelights

Fiction writer Paul Acampora is the author of the young-adult novel Defining Dulcie, a story that focuses on about a girl struggling to heal her pain after the death of her father. Having lived in several regions of the United States—he admits to having been a one-time resident of every state beginning with either a "U" or a "C"—Acampora was raised in Connecticut and worked as a teacher in California for several years. He uses his memories of both these distinct regions to enrich Defining Dulcie. The author also draws on more universal growing-up experiences in "No More Birds Will Die Today," a short story included in the award-winning young-adult anthology Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy.

In Acampora's novel, sixteen-year-old Dulcie Morrigan Jones finds herself less than eager to relocate from her home in New England to California when her mother decides to "re-invent" herself following Dulcie's father's accidental death. After the move, the teen's desire to return to her home emboldens her to return to Connecticut without her mother's permission, stealing her dad's old Chevy truck in the process. During her journey, Dulcie reflects on memories of her father and her feelings gradually fall into place. Moving in with her grandfather, she attempts to pick up the pieces of her old life. Although memories of her father still linger, a new friend with a troubled home life eventually gives her perspective on her own, far-less-difficult situation.

Reviewing Defining Dulcie, Booklist critic Anne O'Malley praised Acampora's heroine for her "deadpan wit," adding that Acampora's "quirky road-trip premise, and a cast of appealing adult and teen characters combine" to make the book an "unusually strong first novel." Myrla Marner, writing in Kliatt, called Defining Dulcie, Booklist "a delightful book full of interesting little scenes that portray some of the oddities and wonders of American life," while School Library Journal reviewer Faith Brautigam reflected on Acampora's compelling protagonists. "Strong and quirky characters who see life as an inextricable mix of sadness and humor, sorrow and hope, are the hallmark of this memorable first novel," Brautigam noted.