Hrdlitschka, Shelley 1956–

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Hrdlitschka, Shelley 1956–

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced Herd-litch-ka; born July 22, 1956, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; daughter of Robert and Vivienne (Lyon) Frampton; married Peter Hrdlitschka (a manager of a construction company), 1977; children: Danielle, Cara, Kyla. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Simon Fraser University, teaching certificate. Religion: Unitarian-Universalist.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—905 Roslyn Blvd., North Vancouver V7G 1P4, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Elementary schoolteacher in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, 1979–86.

MEMBER: Writers Union of Canada, Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers, Children's Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia, Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable.

AWARDS, HONORS: Our Choice Award, Canadian Children's Book Centre, 1998–99, for Beans on Toast, 1999–2000, for Disconnected, and 2002, for Dancing Naked; BC 2000 Book Award, c. 2000, for Tangled Web; young adult honor book selection, Canadian Library Association, 2002, White Pine Award, Ontario Readers Choice Awards, 2002, and choice for young adults, International Reading Association, c. 2003, all for Dancing Naked; "quick pick" selection, American Library Association, 2003, for Dancing Naked, and 2005, for Kat's Fall; inclusion among "best books for the teen age," New York Public Library, 2005, for Kat's Fall.

WRITINGS:

Beans on Toast, illustrated by Ljuba Levstek, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 1998.

Disconnected, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 1998.

Tangled Web (sequel to Disconnected), Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 2000.

Dancing Naked, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 2002.

Kat's Fall, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 2004.

Sun Signs, Orca Book Publishers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), 2005.

Newspaper columnist. Contributor of articles and reviews to magazines.

SIDELIGHTS: Shelley Hrdlitschka once commented: "I discovered my love of children's literature while teaching elementary school, so, while on a parenting leave, I decided to try writing children's stories myself. It took ten long years before I landed my first book contract, but the wait made it that much more rewarding. The second book contract came six months after the first! I've written and published many parenting articles, book reviews, and newspaper columns, but I focus solely on teen fiction now.

"I never did get back to teaching, but I now enjoy visiting schools and libraries and talking to students about the writing process and about the value of perseverance—setting goals and sticking to them.

"Although my story ideas usually come from my own experiences, my three daughters help me with the details, reminding me that fourteen-year-old boys don't usually drink coffee, and they don't say things like 'cute' any more. If a young person writes to me and gives me feedback on my books, I keep the person's name to use in a future story. That's the little prize that readers get for going to the trouble of letting me know how they liked my story!"