Moore, Perry

PERSONAL:

Born in Virginia Beach, VA; partner of Hunter Hill (a writer and filmmaker). Education: University of Virginia, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Agent—Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House, 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER:

Author, film producer, screenwriter, and director of feature films. Worked in talent and development for cable television, including MTV and VH1; former producer of television program The Rosie O'Donnell Show; Walden Media, Los Angeles, CA, developer of films, including I Am David and North to Freedom. Executive producer of feature films, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Lake City. White House intern during Clinton administration.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Lambda Award for best young-adult book, 2008, for Hero.

WRITINGS:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2005.

Hero (young-adult novel), Hyperion (New York, NY), 2007.

Author with Hunter Hill, and director, Lake City (screenplay).

ADAPTATIONS:

Hero was optioned for production as a feature film.

SIDELIGHTS:

Perry Moore's busy life includes funding, writing, and directing films—most notably the popular "Chronicles of Narnia" film series based on the books by C.S. Lewis, for which he has served as executive producer. Nevertheless, Moore has found time to write the Lambda Award-winning young-adult novel Hero, about a young gay man with superpowers. Moore was inspired to write the novel after observing that most mainstream U.S. comics have dealt harshly with gay superheroes or have simply avoided them altogether. In an interview posted on his home page, Moore explained: "Every other barrier has been broken in comics: race, gender, class, physical challenges. But gay characters remain few and far between…. I wrote Hero with the sincere and passionate intention of telling the traditional hero's journey, and turning it on its ear by creating a hero unlike any we've ever seen before."

Moore grew up reading comic books, and as an adult he has continued to purchase several each week. He was galvanized to work on Hero when the Marvel Comics character Northstar was killed in an X-Man installment. Northstar was one of the few gay heroes in the comics world. "I found this to be disturbing, to say the least," Moore recalled. "I'm a real big believer … that the pen is mightier than the sword. So I became more determined than ever to write Hero and have it connect with audiences everywhere."

Moore's father also provided inspiration. A Vietnam War veteran, the elder Moore's ongoing efforts to deal with the trauma of war impressed his son. In Hero, Thom Creed, the central character, has a father who was a superhero but somehow became disgraced and embittered by the experience. As a teen, Thom must deal with his own budding superpowers, as well as his sexual orientation and his father's consequent disapproval. At first, Thom hides his superpowers and his sexual identity from his dad and from the wider world.

Eventually, however, he performs a heroic task and is invited to join the League, a prestigious organization that provides training and support for superheroes. Thom appreciates his position in the League, but when he comes out as gay he is stripped of his membership. Determined to continue fighting crime, he forms his own team of cast-off heroes and continues his quest for justice.

Dylan Thomarie praised Hero in a review for School Library Journal, calling Moore's novel "tactful, interesting, and well-developed." According to George Gene Gustines in the New York Times, Hero "is not a saccharine fairy tale with male superheroes in matching capes flying arm in arm. Thom struggles with feelings of shame. He's the target of ugly slurs…. But things work out relatively well for him."

Moore plans to write sequels to his debut novel, even as he meets responsibilities for further installments in the "Chronicles of Narnia" film series. As he told a Newsarama online interviewer, the message of Hero "is that gay, straight, black, white, young or old, the very thing that makes you different isn't a bad thing. If you embrace it, it can be the most empowering thing in your life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2007, Jennifer Mattson, review of Hero, p. 63.

Horn Book, September-October, 2007, Claire E. Gross, review of Hero, p. 582.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2007, review of Hero.

New York Times, September 3, 2007, George Gene Gustines, "A Novelist's Superhero Is out to Right Wrongs."

People, November 19, 2007, Melody S. Wells, "Perry Moore," p. 121.

Publishers Weekly, September 10, 2007, review of Hero, p. 62.

School Library Journal, September, 2007, Dylan Thomarie, review of Hero, p. 204.

ONLINE

Newsarama Online,http://www.newsarama.com/ (July 24, 2007), interview with Moore; (August 18, 2008) interview with Moore; (August 20, 2008) interview with Moore.

Perry Moore Web site,http://www.perrymoorestories.com (September 8, 2008).